It doesn't take a clairevoyant to predict that this weeks' topics of Identity and the Father Heart of God might be tear-jerkers. And suffice it to say, our two amazing speakers, Dan Sneed and Dave G., weren't bashful about bringing on the tears.
Our first speaker, Dan, spoke on Identity and Self-image. He explained that identity is who we in fact are; the way God sees us; reality. Self-image on the other hand, is the way we perceive ourselves and can be a completely different thing indeed from who we truly are. He spoke on how, through Christ, we have a new identity: God now sees us as His adopted children, holy and blameless, covered in the blood of Jesus. To put it shockingly, we are the same in His eyes as His Son! Unfortunately, our self-image just can't grasp that because everything we see, everything we hear, everything that God tells us passes through a filter that we ourselves have created, a filter built on one or two foundational lies. These lies are usually set in place as young children and are buried so deep that we are no way aware of them! They can only be revealed by the work of the Holy Spirit and even then, take years of healing to bleed out. At Dan's urging, I prayed that the Holy Spirit would reveal any foundational lies that I have been believing, and over the course of the last week, He has done exactly that.
Our second speaker, Dave, took over on Thursday and spoke on the Father Heart of God. He explained that because of these foundational lies that form a base for a skewed filter through which we view the world, we have developed a wrong perception of God the Father. As a result, we can't relate to God the Father in the way we wants us to- as his trusting little children. So on Friday, Dave took us through a tearful, re-parenting process as the Holy Spirit moved around the room, revealing to each person the things that were keeping us from crawling into Papa God's lap and delighting in Him. I wish I could say that my foundational lie has no stronghold in my life anymore, that I am completely healed and in perfect harmony with my heavenly Father, but that just wouldn't be true. I am however, allowing the beautiful, painful, healing process to begin. I am convinced that God has some amazing things in store for me over the course of the rest of this school and outreach! I am excited to continue this adventure deeper into Him :)
Deeper in is what so much of this life is about! Love you! I am so excited about the things He is using to draw you incomparably closer to Himself!
ReplyDeleteI am so encouraged that God faithfully revealing areas of your life that he wants to speak to. It is clear that he has you exactly where you need to be right now.
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