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"Which god do you serve? Do you serve the God of the Universe that has done all the work to make you His Child? Or do you serve the god of this world who wants you to constantly be seeking blessing and to be tormented when failure comes?"
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 53.
There is nothing wrong with seeking blessing. Who wouldn't go after as much of the good things this world has to offer? The strategy that has failed me over and over again is seeking blessing as proof of something. What is that something? I am usually seeking blessing as proof that I am relevant, worthy, lovable and/or have some level of significance. Do any of those motives ring true in your life?
Chasing blessing as proof of anything as to who I am is a strategy that just doesn't work. Yes, it might work well here and there but when it fails to work to the level we need for the proof that we are going after I know from experience that victim thinking is always the result. Seeking proof through goodness in this world is like a treadmill; though you expend a lot of effort you end up exactly where you started.
I don't know about you but I don't want to stay an any one place for too long. Sure there are good situations where I wish I could just camp out for the rest of my life but that isn't realistic, not to mention, a healthy strategy. Time marches forward and so so our circumstances. Change is a constant that we can bank on and change in our situation is what makes it possible for disappointment and therefore victim thinking to be a part of our lives.
Here's an important Bible verse when it comes to change.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)
Jesus does't change. That's because God doesn't change. He's love for us is the same whether our circumstances are good or if they are swamping us like a tilde wave. That's why I asked the question earlier... which God are you going to serve?
Are you going to serve a god that says you have to have proof of who you are in order to feel OK about yourself? That god is just as alive as you are, because you are that god! Serving yourself in this way is such a waste of time. It just doesn't work in the long run. Experience enough failures in serving yourself and you too will be debilitated by victim thinking thoughts and actions.
The God that made you is something completely different than the god that needs proof as to who you are. God The Father doesn't need proof of your identity - He died to give you that identity. That's the God that we need to be looking to for confirmation of who we are. He doesn't change so who He says you are is the same whether you are experiencing blessing like never before or if blessing seems to be the furthest thing from your life.
You aren't what you do so stop doing to try and prove who you are in the situations you will experience today. It isn't the roles you play today that defines who you are. Your identity has been set by God. You are His Child and that never changes.
That's why you can rest on your status as a victor today even if all you experience is victimizing events. Don't let the outcome of your day be anything more than what it is - a result. You are so much more than a result. You are a victor and, just like God's character, that never changes.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)
Jesus does't change. That's because God doesn't change. He's love for us is the same whether our circumstances are good or if they are swamping us like a tilde wave. That's why I asked the question earlier... which God are you going to serve?
Are you going to serve a god that says you have to have proof of who you are in order to feel OK about yourself? That god is just as alive as you are, because you are that god! Serving yourself in this way is such a waste of time. It just doesn't work in the long run. Experience enough failures in serving yourself and you too will be debilitated by victim thinking thoughts and actions.
The God that made you is something completely different than the god that needs proof as to who you are. God The Father doesn't need proof of your identity - He died to give you that identity. That's the God that we need to be looking to for confirmation of who we are. He doesn't change so who He says you are is the same whether you are experiencing blessing like never before or if blessing seems to be the furthest thing from your life.
You aren't what you do so stop doing to try and prove who you are in the situations you will experience today. It isn't the roles you play today that defines who you are. Your identity has been set by God. You are His Child and that never changes.
That's why you can rest on your status as a victor today even if all you experience is victimizing events. Don't let the outcome of your day be anything more than what it is - a result. You are so much more than a result. You are a victor and, just like God's character, that never changes.
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