A friend posted this on Facebook: “When people tell you who they are, Maya Angelou famously advised, believe them. Just as importantly, however, when people try to tell you who YOU are, don’t believe them. You are the only custodian of your own integrity, and the assumptions made by those who misunderstand who you are and what you stand for reveal a great deal about them and absolutely nothing about you.”
I wasn’t sure if I liked this at first; fearing it may be a happy-sappy “self actualization and personal empowerment” quote. Upon further inspection, I decided I mostly agree.
The world is saturated with voices, distractions, and opinions – and those we highlight or assign importance to become vitally important. I wonder how many are walking in submission to the voice of the Holy Spirit – our greatest Teacher, Friend, Counselor, and Advocate, and how many are being guided by compelling but godless mouthpieces of popular culture?
Knowing the voice of the Holy Spirit takes diligence and effort. Many people claim, “I can’t hear the voice of God, He never speaks to me” yet move through life constantly distracted, stressed, hurried, and unwilling to invest time in learning to hear that still, small voice.
Not only must we be disciplined in carving out intentional alone time with God, we also need to come under the authority of the Word of God. When the adversary comes along with something contrary to the Word, we reject it and cast it off. We must resist it with what is TRUE. Thought policing is a persistent necessity. It’s essential to take every thought captive! Consider 2 Corinthians 10:3-6:
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Casting away wrong thoughts requires our ability to recognize them, and to align our thinking and lives with the Word. Being immersed in the holy scriptures will bring transformation like nothing else.
Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” We HEAR the Word of God through the Holy scriptures, we BELIEVE what it says, and then our next action is to CONFESS it to be true in our lives.
Your WORDS and what you speak over yourself has a lot to do with a person’s measure of faith. God’s Word is heard, fills spiritual heart, sparks faith, and mobilizes action and confession. Without confession of faith, it is DEAD, inoperable faith!
You can “have faith” all day long. George Michael famously sang, “You gotta have faith.” People have faith in themselves, faith that “things will work out,” and faith for vague, nebulous things such as a “brighter tomorrow.” Most of the body of Christ has some measure of faith: faith in forgiveness of sins, going to heaven, the gospel message, Jesus dying on the cross and rising again – this is “general faith.” But unless it’s CONFESSED FAITH, it remains will be dormant and won’t bear fruit!
To put faith in action, you must release it from your mouth, hear it, BELIEVE it, and confess it!
Steer everything in life with your words. Know who you are in Christ – and WHOSE you are! Your Father is in heaven. Your home is heaven. This earthly life is temporary – we’re simply passing through “on assignment.” We’re here for such a time as this to usher in the return of Jesus. We don’t listen to the enemy’s lies and deception. We know who we are in Christ! Our identity is settled. Jesus’ paid the price and His blood seals the promise. It is unchanging, supernatural, and eternal.
The world system is temporary and subject to change. People’s opinions and circumstances are subject to change. The Word of God will stand forever!
Melissa Huray