HOW WE PERCEIVE OURSELVESRomans 8:16, 17 By Charles Swindol
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.
Lydia is a middle-aged woman who was dealt a bad hand in liferight from the beginning. Memories of sexual abuse that she suffered as a young child have haunted her continually throughout her life. Her damagedself-image seemed beyond repair. As she told her story, Lydia displayed little emotion, but her words reflected total despair. When she concluded, I asked, "Who are you, Lydia? How do youperceive yourself?"
"I'm evil," she answered stoically. "I'm just no good for anybody. People tell me I'm evil and all I do is bring trouble."
"You're not evil," I argued. "How can a child of God be evil? Is that how you perceive yourself?" Lydia nodded.
It is never pleasant to see the evil one express his ugly personality through a victim like Lydia. But realizing that she is primarily the product of the work of Christ on the Cross instead of the victim of her past, she was able to throw off the chains of spiritual bondage and begin living according to her true identity as a child of God.
Nothing is more foundational to your freedom from Satan's bondage than understanding and affirming what God has done for you in Christ and who you are as a result. We all live in accordance with our perceived identity. In fact, we cannot consistently behave in a way that is inconsistent with how we perceive ourselves. Your attitudes, actions, responses and reactions to life's circumstances are often determined by your conscious and subconsciousself-perception. If you see yourself as the helpless victim of Satan and his schemes, you will live like his victim and be in bondage to his lies. But if you see yourself as the dearly loved and accepted child of God that you really are, you will more likely live like a child of God.
Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, that You have made me more than a conqueror.Because of Your love and power, I can live as a victor instead of avictim today.
6 comments:
WOW! Karen, this addresses the very thing that Michelle and I were discussing the other day! NOT a coincidence. The tricky part is trying to coinvince someone of this very concept when they don't believe in the Bible or are "religious", but not in tune with the Holy Spirit. Even if you have had an infilling of the Holy Spirit, it can take years to shift gears into knowing you are the beloved child of God.
Thank you for this post!
I agree with you, too! I didn't discuss it with Sharon and Michelle, but I do know the tricky part. I believe the most effective way to convince people is by our actions - how do they see us? Is what we do and say attracting them to what we have, or does what we say and do make them reject our philosophy of life. As someone said - "We may be the only bible some people ever read". So true. And yes, even after we are filled with the Holy Spirit, it very often does take a very long time for us to really experience and really know what it means to be a member of God's family!
Get your bibles out and read the scripture Karen posted. And then it's fun, also, to follow the trail around the bible with the footnotes and margin notes - go where it refers you to. Fun. Like a treasure hunt. You'll find the best treasures you can ever hope to find!
IF you have bad feelings about yourself, those thoughts are NOT from God.
This is very good, Karen. It is important to love ourselves before we can expect others to love us back. It is easier to love our own self when we know that God loves us for who we are. He put us here for a purpose, even if just to spread his love. It goes full circle.
Yes, I have a difficult time with loving myself. That is my prayer that I can love myself. I stuggle everyday with the thoughts that no one could possibley love me. I think that is why I have a weight problem now too. Pray for me. I am having a really hard time with this.
I love you, Karen! (For what it's worth). You are and always have been a very very lovable person. You have to come to the place where you realize that. I just wish you could see yourself as others see you, then you would really like yourself!!
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