Thoughts
that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking
Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to
the audio file.
**********
"We need to see ourselves as God sees us. That’s where the freedom of being a victor can come for all us Children of God. Not knowing our standing before God leaves the door open to victim thinking."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. HovisPage 49.
How do you see yourself right now in your life? How does your life stack up when compared to the whatever you think makes you measure up in this world? If you are like me, the answer to those questions change significantly as my circumstances change. If life is going well my standing in the world is pretty secure. When bad times hit I can be extremely unsure of my standing.
That's the danger of tying our standing to anything that can change over time. The changes we experience can make us doubt our standing and place us in a position where it is so easy to fall into victim thinking. In order to walk fully in our identity as a victor it is critical that our standing be tied to something that is unlikely to change, something that has a standard in which we can trust and something that we can believe has our best interests at heart. For me, I haven't found anything in this world that fits this bill except a relationship with God himself.
Here's what the Bible says on the subject of the battle we have with ourselves when it comes to our standing.
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)
I like the visual painted in today's reading. The issues of standing, and therefore identity, is something that I can visualize akin to getting dressed. I have to "put off" the old ways and "put on" the new.
The old ways are those standards that define my standing in ways that can make me doubt that standing from time to time. The new ways are synonymous to me learning to find my standing through the way God sees me and learning how to trust that new way of "putting on" my standing in this world.
The reason I like the getting dressed metaphor when it comes to my standing is it helps me to make sense why I don't default to the new way of "putting on" described in our reading today. You see, "putting on" the new requires for me to "put off" the old. Truth is I like the old, I'm comfortable with it even though it lets me down from time to time. It's like that old shirt or those old shoes. Though they are well-worn and tattered, they have served me well in the past and I find it difficult at times to "put off" the old and "put on" the new.
Our standing is assured in Christ! Our standing is not assured when viewed using standards from this world. Isn't it time to "put off" the old ways of letting our circumstances be a part of what defines who we are and therefore our standing? I know it is hard to just throw away that old garment that represents the old way of verifying our standing but the new garment of standing in God's eyes is so much better suited for who we are.
When issues come up today that make you doubt your standing maybe it's time for a wardrobe change in the spiritual sense. As those doubts hit you take a moment to actually visualize the process of "putting off" the old and "putting on" the new.
Your standing is secure in how God sees you. There is no amount of success in your tasks today that can enhance your standing and no amount of failure that can diminish it. You are His child. That makes you a victor! Your circumstances and their success or failure have nothing to do with that standing. Remember, God sees you as perfect - now that's a standing we all should find easy to "put on."
**********
"We need to see ourselves as God sees us. That’s where the freedom of being a victor can come for all us Children of God. Not knowing our standing before God leaves the door open to victim thinking."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. HovisPage 49.
How do you see yourself right now in your life? How does your life stack up when compared to the whatever you think makes you measure up in this world? If you are like me, the answer to those questions change significantly as my circumstances change. If life is going well my standing in the world is pretty secure. When bad times hit I can be extremely unsure of my standing.
That's the danger of tying our standing to anything that can change over time. The changes we experience can make us doubt our standing and place us in a position where it is so easy to fall into victim thinking. In order to walk fully in our identity as a victor it is critical that our standing be tied to something that is unlikely to change, something that has a standard in which we can trust and something that we can believe has our best interests at heart. For me, I haven't found anything in this world that fits this bill except a relationship with God himself.
Here's what the Bible says on the subject of the battle we have with ourselves when it comes to our standing.
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)
I like the visual painted in today's reading. The issues of standing, and therefore identity, is something that I can visualize akin to getting dressed. I have to "put off" the old ways and "put on" the new.
The old ways are those standards that define my standing in ways that can make me doubt that standing from time to time. The new ways are synonymous to me learning to find my standing through the way God sees me and learning how to trust that new way of "putting on" my standing in this world.
The reason I like the getting dressed metaphor when it comes to my standing is it helps me to make sense why I don't default to the new way of "putting on" described in our reading today. You see, "putting on" the new requires for me to "put off" the old. Truth is I like the old, I'm comfortable with it even though it lets me down from time to time. It's like that old shirt or those old shoes. Though they are well-worn and tattered, they have served me well in the past and I find it difficult at times to "put off" the old and "put on" the new.
Our standing is assured in Christ! Our standing is not assured when viewed using standards from this world. Isn't it time to "put off" the old ways of letting our circumstances be a part of what defines who we are and therefore our standing? I know it is hard to just throw away that old garment that represents the old way of verifying our standing but the new garment of standing in God's eyes is so much better suited for who we are.
When issues come up today that make you doubt your standing maybe it's time for a wardrobe change in the spiritual sense. As those doubts hit you take a moment to actually visualize the process of "putting off" the old and "putting on" the new.
Your standing is secure in how God sees you. There is no amount of success in your tasks today that can enhance your standing and no amount of failure that can diminish it. You are His child. That makes you a victor! Your circumstances and their success or failure have nothing to do with that standing. Remember, God sees you as perfect - now that's a standing we all should find easy to "put on."
No comments:
Post a Comment