How many times does our past contaminate our future? How many times have you limited yourself based on what has happened in your past? Mistakes, failures, heartbreak, trials, all-out crash, and burns… The fear of those things returning, repeating, or showing their ugly heads in our lives again is always lingering there, waiting to be snatched up like bait in a trap.
We attach our identity to the person we were in our past. We attach our worth, value, and destiny to what we have accomplished or have NOT accomplished in our lives thus far. We attach our self-image to individuals of our pasts or current life and how they have treated us.
It’s literally like collecting all the baggage from all the things, throwing it in a giant Santa-sized bag, and expecting to go somewhere while dragging it around with you wherever you go. And when the Lord puts a vision or dreams inside you, you find something in that bag of burdens to prove to yourself WHY YOU CAN’T, WHY YOU AREN’T QUALIFIED, OR WHY YOU WILL SURELY FAIL.
President and CEO of Church On The Rock International, Dr. Michael Maiden, says, “You can’t look like your history when entering your destiny. Your identity needs to match your destiny.”
I don’t know about you, but this makes me so fired up! The DEVIL is the one who throws our pasts in our faces, who tries to sabotage our futures! The ENEMY is the one who reminds us of offenses we pick back up, “unforgivable” mistakes we have made (which is a lie), or the regrets we have and guilt we carry. Having a VISION for the future is almost impossible when we are limited by our pasts or existing idea of who we are.
According to research by Dr. Daniel Gilbert of Harvard, people are bad at predicting who they will be in the future. The reason is simple: remembering the past is far easier than imagining the future. Dr. Gilbert explains, “remembering is easier than imagining.”
So we REMEMBER the past and who we were, but we can’t wrap our heads around our futures and WHO WE WILL BE. He says, “It’s time to stop attaching yourself so much to the person you think you are. It’s time to let go of the notion that your future self will be the same as your present self.”
That made me think. Who do I see myself as? Do I see myself as GOD sees me? Do I see myself as valuable as HE considers me? My value is worth so much more than I can comprehend. It was worth the Precious Blood of Jesus. And yet, I still can convince myself, BASED ON MY PAST and who I am today, that my destiny is limited to nothing more than what I have already experienced.
It all boils down to the health of our IDENTITY. If you see yourself differently from how the Lord sees you, you will have a problem. I believe this is why I have run into a lot of annoying roadblocks in my life. And when I say roadblocks, I mean sin, poor self-image, fear, insecurities, blah blah blah.
My identity MUST match my destiny. I KNOW God has a purpose and destiny for each one of us. His Word says that, and his word is TRUTH.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:11-12 NIV
But how do I download this identity inside ME? What needs fixing, healed, or renewed in my mind/heart to function with this God-Sized Identity??
Here is a place to start—three simple things. And if you start here and begin to renew your mind every time you think the opposite, you will find yourself being healed and walking into a destiny that will match this new identity.
So #1. YOU ARE FORGIVEN. Your past. Your current self. And your future self. Please, let this sink in.
“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.” – Micah 7:18-20 (ESV)
“The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
12 He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.” – Psalm 103:8-12
Whenever the devil tries to throw your past in your face (or your own thoughts), you must say OUTLOUD, “NO!! I am forgiven! I am NEW in CHRIST. I am created with purpose and destiny! I have been separated from my sin; the Blood of Jesus cleanses me now and continuously!”
If GOD doesn’t hold your sin against you because of the Blood of Jesus, YOU had better not either. Be free, live and walk in freedom, and choose to receive his sacrifice with thanksgiving. 🙌
#2. YOU ARE LOVED.
“Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.” – Psalm 36:5 NLT
Our problem here is that we relate God’s UNCONDITIONAL love with the very conditional love offered to us in the world by fathers, mothers, spouses, whoever, you name it, it just ain’t the same.
We try and EARN love, we try and CONTROL love, and when life happens and we don’t feel lovable, we reject the love God is doing everything in his power to give us. So many of us live with orphaned hearts, and we do not know how to receive the love of our Father. But this is something we MUST learn, and we MUST receive. God’s love is unlike any other love on this big rock we call Earth.
Do yourself a favor and ask the Lord to help you understand this. Then, spend time on it in your life. Get alone with God and read His Word; search and examine your life for all the ways He is trying to communicate and has proven His love toward you.
A hardship-free life DOES NOT equal proof of God’s love. He is IN the trials, IN the hardship, trying to direct, guide, rescue, form, teach, and mold you into the person of DESTINY you are born to be. Just because you have suffered in life doesn’t mean you are not crowned with the royalty and love of the KING of KINGS. Get up and walk in it.
#3. YOU ARE CALLED.
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:14-16
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” – Matthew 28:19 NLT
So you mean there is MORE to life than getting up, going to work, going home, watching TV, and eating dinner until you fall asleep on the couch (insert kids, chores, etc… ), only to get up and do it all over again? Why yes.
Yes, there is, and nothing will fulfill you apart from the calling the Lord has placed on your life. That void cannot be filled with any other job, task, duty, or responsibility. It is there to be filled with the very thing you were CREATED to do…love people and tell them how good Jesus is.
God can use you in many ways, it doesn’t have to be how he uses me, but it IS your responsibility to figure it out and make it happen. As we live for Jesus, pursuing Him, I promise you will not “miss it.” God’s responsibility is to show you your purpose… to expose His plans, and if you are doing the last thing he told you, well, then you are well on your way.
Helping spread the gospel and being a witness for Jesus, nothing is as rewarding as this. Leading someone to Jesus, helping them to know Him as you have come to know Him, and seeing others be healed and forgiven is how you live a fulfilled and purposeful life.
“Don’t downgrade your dream just to fit your reality. Upgrade your conviction to match your destiny.” – Stuart Scott
Hey, God has a purpose for you, bigger than who you are right now, much, much bigger. Align your identity with whom HE says you are, be healed of your past, and dare to dream BIG about your future. Put these three things into your life, into your thinking, and get them downloaded into your heart. Don’t settle for the enemy’s plan to keep you in bondage.
Break FREE. Live GOD’s DREAM FOR YOU! I am cheering for you!! Go, Girl!!
“Remembering is easier than imagining”!! Woah, vision for our lives has nothing to do with the past! So good!