For Such a Time as This - Mandisa

Recently as I was talking with some other women I noticed a general theme begin to emerge in our conversation.  We were all struggling with our identities, worth and value.  We struggled with negative feelings that drew us away from God and spending time with Him, we struggled with not being overwhelmed by the cares and concerns of this life, and I know I personally struggled with acting like I still had it all together as I was weathering the storms.  Unfortunately thru the years I have developed a bad habit of stuffing my feelings.  I hear Joyce Meyer's voice going through my head as I type this "something buried alive never dies."  Guess this is true because I have buried my negative feelings for so long they are resurrecting themselves in my life when I least expect it.  And those negative feelings know just where to dig to hurt the most, my identity. 

I think women in general struggle to truly understand their importance, I know I do.  Too many times in my short life I know I have felt so unimportant I did not see any reason to continue living, but when I was at my lowest God was always good to be there with me.  He would remind me that He created me for a purpose and that I was important.

Recently I listened to a message by Brian Houston on confidence.  In this message he touched on identity and he declared that we not only had worth and value but we were also qualified.  Now I have never heard anyone declare identity using the word qualify, it made me stop and think.  So many times I have struggled with feeling qualified to do a lot of things but the biggest struggle has been the areas God has called me in.

The more I prayed and mediated on this word the more I began to believe that yes I am qualified. I believe my feelings of being unqualified have come from that fact that what God calls us to do is normally beyond our realm of ability.    Another area that has made me feel unqualified is when I have sought the approval, affirmation, or confirmation of my calling from man.  As with any calling we can get wisdom and advice from man but we need to learn to trust God and follow His ways to glorify Him in the calling that He has placed on us.  Allow Holy Spirit to continually remind you how qualified you are.  God's word declares that we can do ALL things through him because He enables us. 

Psalm 139 is a great example in the Word declaring how important and qualified we are to God.  He knew us before we were ever born and every day of our life is recorded in His book.  He knew our yesterday, He knows our today, and He knows our tomorrow.  How amazing.

Psalm 139:13-16

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

So if God formed us and He knows every day of our life before it has even happened,  why do we always want to change our life?  Personally I know if I could change certain things about my life I would do so in a nanosecond.  I would be taller, more outgoing, have perfect hair, etc.  I may want to be taller, live elsewhere, be more outgoing, and so on and so forth but I know that God has me where He wants me in this specific time and place for His plan and purpose for my life.
 
As I was working on this blog and typing the above God gave me this vision.  Imagine Him looking down at you as you go about your day.   Imagine Him asking you to do something for Him that day and you said no either out of fear or laziness.  You then go about your way doing your own thing and ignore what God has asked you to do.  The picture now changes and God looks down at the page in His book that He had written for you and starts erasing what was there and replacing it with what we did.  Can you see Him saying "crud that did not happen, guess I'll have to erase what I had for them and re-write the day for what they wanted instead."  When the vision first came to me I laughed because it seemed so ridiculous but the more I thought about it the sadder I became.

How many times do we go our own way, do our own thing, and ignore the promptings and guiding's of Holy Spirit?  Imagine if Esther had ignored her uncles warning and had not gone into the king uninvited seeking deliverance for her and her people?  Would God have raised up someone else or would He have allowed His people to be destroyed?  She was very important for that time and for that purpose.

I believe we too are that important for the time and place that God has placed us in.  What has God spoken to you about you?  What plan does He have for you?  I know when you seek Him He is good to start revealing to you His plans.  He will declare that He has prepared you for such as time as this!  Do not get impatient with Him, His timing is perfect.  When man starts to declare over you something different than God just love them and stand firm in who God says you are.  I know personally I am not man's choice.  People look at me and they see a petite timid woman but when God looks at me He sees me as the women He has designed and created me to be.

Today begin declaring to yourself who God says you are.  Beth Moore in her Believing God series has a five point statement that I believe goes well with this. 

1. God is who He says He is
2. God can do what He says He can do
3. I am who God says I am
4. I can do all things in Christ
5. God's word is alive and active in me

Now declare I Believe God!  Because if we do not believe Him and what He is saying we cannot step into the fullness of all He has for us.  We cannot live the good plans He has recorded in His book for us.

I love Mandisa's song from The Story on Esther Born for this, it goes so well with this message that God has laid on my heart.  Enjoy.