Who Are You…Really?

I’ve had lots of comments on my Blog Name, so I wanted to write today about how and why I chose this name.

Most of my life I struggled with confidence and self-esteem…always feeling a little underqualified or unsure about myself. It was strange because it was like no one around me recognized these struggles or saw me that way. I was popular in school, athletic, always had friends, but I was never confident in who I was. Really, I didn’t know who I was. I would just go with the flow. Then at twenty-two years old, I surrendered my life to Jesus. It was the most wonderful experience!!! His love!!! I had never experienced love like I did that night. I wish I could say that everything changed then, but it didn’t. Things did get a little better because I knew that Jesus loved me and He loved me enough to give His life for me. That meant something. Since then, it has been a process…a long process of healing. A process of allowing my “Daddy” to expose lies that I have believed about myself and others and replace them with His truth. Today, I am fifty-one years old and I am pretty confident in who I am…I am God’s Beloved Warrior. God knew me as His Beloved Warrior long before I did. He called me by my true identity long before I “apprehended” it and began walking in it. God is good at calling things that are not as though they are…He sees the big picture.

While I was thinking about writing this post I began to think about Abraham, David, Joseph, Saul (Paul) and others and how God knew their true identity way before they did and how it was a process before they “fully apprehended” their identity.

In Genesis 17 we see that God called Abraham the Father of many nations. He was ninety-nine years old and he and Sarah had no children at this time and yet God was telling him that He was making him the father of many nations. God also told him, “What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you WILL BE the father of many nations…” (Names are important. What we say about ourselves is important) Although Abraham wasn’t yet the father of many nations and “in the natural” it looked like God may have just gotten this one wrong, but we know that he is  known as the “father of many nations”.   In Romans 4, we see the process of Abraham “apprehending” his identity, “This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and Who creates new things out of nothing.” Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping and believing and his faith did not weaken…he DID NOT EVEN CONSIDER his own body, already dead, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but rather was strengthened in his faith and fully convinced that what God promised He was also able to perform. Because of his faith…the promise was fulfilled. 

It is important what we believe! It is important who we believe we are and what we say about ourselves! How many times have you felt like God was showing you your true identity, but you just didn’t see it…or maybe you just didn’t see how you could ever be or do what He was showing you about yourself? Maybe you’ve struggled (are struggling) with feeling unworthy (of love, respect, honor, or whatever), or maybe you’ve struggled (are struggling) with fitting in or maybe with your past. Whatever your struggle has been or is today, it is important for you to line up with who God says you are!!! Words are powerful; Proverbs 18:21 tells us “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” We all need to know what God says about us in His word and begin to identify with His words. If we want to become who God has created us to be then we need to know who that is and begin to declare it over ourselves. His words have creative power. He spoke and created the world and all that is in it. Our words have creative power. The same Spirit that was at work with God, in the beginning, lives inside every believer today. Words we speak over ourselves, our situation, and others… have power! Speak Life! Speak Prosperity! Speak Destiny! Speak Joy! Speak His Truth! Speak worth! Speak Health! Speak Value! Speak your identity!!! Stop lining up with the enemy and his lies about you! God’s word tells us that we are sons and daughters of the King! So if we are sons and daughters of the King, that makes us Princes and Princesses! Let’s begin to live in that identity!

So…my journey to my Blog Name

Several years ago some friends of mine went to Israel. They each got a ring that had “God’s Beloved” engraved on it in Hebrew. I LOVED those rings and I wanted one. At that season in my life…I just needed to know that I was God’s Beloved. I wanted to just lay back on Him and let Him love me. We had been through a really rough season (actually we were still in it to some degree) and I was just tired of fighting. I needed a break and I needed God to just love on me and reaffirm me as ‘His Beloved’. I had told Steven how much I loved the rings and how I wanted one. (Thinking nothing more of it). Christmas comes and Steven surprised me. He had me my own special ring made and shipped from Israel. I was so excited when I opened it! I immediately put it on and he said, ” It says “My Beloved…Warrior.” WHAT? What? I just wanted to be God’s Beloved…why did you add warrior? Of course, I didn’t say that out loud…I just thought it to myself. I was thankful and I was really touched by the thought that had gone into this gift, but I didn’t fully embrace the whole “God’s Beloved Warrior” identity. I was tired of fighting and I didn’t really want to be a warrior. (I’m not sure that I fully saw myself as a warrior either). I wanted to rest and let Him love me, encourage me, and just take care take of me. I did like the ring though and I would wear it often and people would always ask me what it said.  So I would tell them…”My Beloved Warrior.” 😊 So fast forward to January 2018…I am in the midst of a fierce battle!!! Mind you…I don’t ever wear jewelry when I am at home, but I felt God nudging me to put on my ‘My Beloved Warrior” ring…so I put it on and I didn’t take it off…I even slept with it on. It was about the THIRD DAY (yep…that third day again) that I realized exactly what was going on. God was calling me by His name for me. It was at this time that I realized what God had been up to for the past several years. You see, He already knew that I was His Beloved Warrior way back then (even though I didn’t feel it, believe it completely, or even want it to be true). He spoke it to Steven…Steven had my ring made…I wore it…people would ask what it said…I would tell them…”My Beloved Warrior”. Every time I told someone what it said, I was declaring God’s truth about my identity without even realizing it! Each time I would declare that truth, it would get deeper and deeper into my spirit. TODAY I KNOW THAT I AM ‘GOD’S BELOVED WARRIOR’. I am thankful that God knew then what I would need now. (I love ‘Ebenezer stones’…special jewelry, trinkets, pictures, etc. that remind me of my amazing God moments!) So today I boldly and confidently declare that I am ‘God’s Beloved Warrior’  and I proudly wear the ring! That is how my Blog Name was chosen.

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What are you saying about yourself? Ask God who He calls you and listen? Search His word and see all the names He has for you. Begin to call yourself by your true identity and watch your life transform.