Rediscovering Yourself Through God's Eyes

"I've been saved for awhile...now what?"

Kingdom Sisters, have you ever found yourself asking this particular question? Maybe it was a few months after you gave your life to Christ or maybe even longer than that. The thing is, sometimes we hit a stump in our walk when it comes down to who we are and what we are called to do. Am I saying that you have no idea what you are meant to do? Not entirely, it's just that sometimes, the enemy would desire for us to go through a crucial and or permanent identity crisis and sometimes we fall for it. You know how in school you had the really popular kids and a few years pass by and you finally see them again and they haven't changed at all? That's because nine times out of ten, they peaked in high school, that was the greatest version of themselves that they would ever be. Guess what? When you give your life to Christ, you can refrain from this all together because your faith is designed to grow and you're supposed to evolve and change on the daily basis. You can only hold onto that mustard seed for so long, you have to let it grow sooner rather than later. Now with all of this being said, after you have been in Christ for awhile and you find yourself asking this question, just know that you have some rediscovering to do girl and trust me, the pressure will be applied but embrace it. When it comes down to going through the rediscovering process, you must first put yourself in a place of remembering where you came from. Tough to look at? That's alright, it can be painful or sometimes too hard to look back on where we came from or what we have been through but it helps to be more grateful for God's grace and mercy. Now then, as you are looking back, go back far enough to when you first gave your life to Christ.  Remember the hunger you first had for God and how eager you were to grow in Him. Remember the mental sigh of relief you took when you finally decided to welcome in Jesus. A person who was finally taking the necessary steps to overcoming and leaving behind their past hurts, traumas, and shame once and for all. Looks like a whole different person right? Now, if you are looking back and that person was stronger at the beginning of walking with Christ compared to you now, it's time to get it together. It's time to remind yourself of your love for God and to redefine who you currently are in Him.

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:

marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Pslams 139:14 KJV

Knowing WHO you are and WHO you belong to..

Okay sisters so after taking a brief stroll down memory lane, make sure that you are clear on your goal to becoming a new and improved you. How can you be clear on doing this? By knowing that you are here to be better than who you were yesterday. Often times we try to strive for who we were before the trauma or our bad mistakes took place and frankly ladies, that simply just doesn't work. Yes, things might have been much easier before the trauma and or consequences of your own decisions but that person no longer exists because you had to grow from the past hurts and traumas that you've been through. Now yes, some can testify to turning colder when this took place and others may say that they grew fearful of certain things, whatever it is and or was, it lead you to saying enough is enough and you gave your life to Christ. So now here you are, your slate has been wiped clean, your mind is still trying to grow and change when it comes down to handling certain things and people but in the back of your mind, the thought of you being in a stuck place maybe coming in. SNAP OUT OF IT GIRL! You are not stuck and you are not meant to stay the same, if anything, you should notice a difference in yourself more and more each day. Knowing who you are in Christ becomes more visible to you when you work towards building your own personal relationship with God. How do you go about doing this? By reading His Word, praying, fasting, and practicing forgiveness on the daily basis and much more. You see, the Lord already knew who you were when you were in your mother's womb and all throughout your time in the world, He just had to wait on you to see when you would give your life to Christ. (Thus hinting at our free will) God won't force you to do anything, it's up to you on whether or not you truly love Him and want to seek after Him for who He is and not just for what He can do for you. In becoming clear on who you are in Christ, you have to recognize who you belong to.

We all know that whoever is willing to repent and turn from their ways belong to the Lord but what happens after that? Well ladies, most of the time, God will take something that you are passionate about and use it to not only bring glory to Him but to also gain your attention. "Gain my attention? Girl what are you talking about?" Well you see, He will literally show you how you can operate in your own form of ministry without even realizing it. If you were someone who was into art and during your downtime you never picked up your paintbrush, but after giving your life to Christ, all of a sudden you just can't stop painting. Someone looks at it and it may bring them joy. Or, let's just say you used to sing a lot of worldly songs back in the day and after you came to Christ, you couldn't sing off of emotion anymore but when you began to worship, your voice was even more beautiful than before. Maybe you were a writer back then and never shared your work but then after being made over, the Lord used you to encourage others through your work forcing you out of your shell. That was my case. He does this to show us that everything enhances when we put Him first. How can I connect this with what I stated earlier by not being able to be the person that you were before the trauma? Well, I am a violinist and when I was younger, I was great at it, first chair and all but I was EXTREMELY cocky about it and full of myself. When I moved, my new school didn't have orchestra and I was devastated, I tried private sessions but it wasn't the same, my hunger for it was gone, I got caught up in a bad experience and after that I barely played for years. Fast forward to RECENTLY, I got my violin fixed up and when I tried playing, I would get frustrated because I wasn't playing at all how I used to, I couldn't achieve beast mode and easier songs seemed harder. You maybe thinking, well that's because of the time you didn't practice. No, that's because I was extremely cocky back then and now that I'm older with knowing the importance of being humble, it won't have the same type of emotion attached toit so now I must work on playing with who I am today which is more humble and healed. Knowing who you are right now in this very moment only becomes visible to your eyes when you maintain the relationship with who you belong to. Everything that you do enhances and the passion returns in a new light when you see that God is ahead of everything that is attached to you.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, 

but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the

flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and

gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

 Don't define yourself by how others view you...

When I first gave my life to Christ, Galatians 2:20 was what I held onto because I knew in my heart that my old self was gone. It was hard though because when you truly change, the enemy tries to send things that remind you of who you used to be and what you used to do. In the beginning of my journey, I stumbled and fell short A LOT, and even as I grew, it wasn't as bad but I still had a tough time. I still had moments where I would get reminded of who I used to be and how I used to act towards others. I became so wrapped up in my thoughts that sometimes certain actions would display themselves right before my eyes. I then had to realize that if I was going to be serious about this thing, I had to want God completely for myself. I say this to say that, even if we have been in the Lord for a very long time and we meet and connect with new people who may think that we are just so sweet or strong or humble, there is still someone out there who is probably holding onto the old version of you. You may even have a family member or someone you know who every time they see you, they just have to throw your past mistakes in your face or claim that you will never truly be changed. On the flip side of that, you are probably in a place right now where you are meeting new people and you have formed new bonds but someone out there may have their reservations about you just because of how others show you love and appreciation. Girl, I get it, trust me, I understand, it may seem like you just can't catch a break but guess what? You can't define yourself by how others view you.

 Everyone that you meet has their own version of you made up in their minds whether it's someone from your past or someone you know now and you can't do anything about it except just be yourself. SOME people, like the world, are fickle, they really don't know who they want you to be, and they may claim that they don't know why they don't like you but trust me, they know. All you have to do is continue to mold and form into the woman that God has called you to be and to do so without any explanation. You may think that it's simple to not define yourself by how others view you but trust me, it takes time, dedication, discipline and consistency. You have to discipline your mind to be open to change and correction from God through the Holy Spirit, you have to be consistent to reading His Word and filling yourself up with holy things. You have to be dedicated and content in Jesus knowing that this will cause you to change and shift DAILY. Now just know that this may get you to be called fake or moving funny but know that if someone around you is quick to slap that label on you and they claimed to be your friend, then they were always reserved  about you from the jump and they were just waiting for a moment to pin something on you. True friends encourage you to grow and shift because they want to see you be all that God has called you to be and vice versa. It can also be tough to not let people define you because if your mind receives the negative things that people say about you then you'll begin to repeat those things to yourself verbally and through your actions. You may have goal weight that you want and that one person may be in your ear saying you'll never lose or gain what you need. You may have a business idea that you are ready to manifest but someone may be trying to get you to stay thinking that it's impossible. These are the types of people that you should steer clear of. You have to realize that you absorb the very things and people that are around you. Don't believe me? Check the people around you, check what you watch and listen to and examine yourself fully. Kind of crazy right? It's okay because you can redefine yourself by knowing that you are an unique daughter of the one true King.

Embrace what makes you, YOU!

As you go on with your process of rediscovering who you are in Him, you'll come to see that your identity was right in front of you all along, you just had to wipe away all the dirt and crust from your eyes. We always hear about people securing the bag and chasing money nonstop for their come up, well guess what Kingdom Sisters, it's time for you to secure your faith and chase after who God has called you to be so that your mindset can come up. Yes, you will have moments of when and where you weren't always the best person and you may be reminded of certain traits that you need to drop but it is all worth it in the long run. There might be days where you are wondering why can't you be like the woman to your left or why can't you have what that random couple has but guess what love, there is something very specific that they Lord places within us so that we can all be unique in our own way. A woman who is secured in who she is cannot be messed with or shaken up by the enemy. Once you can firmly say who you are and what makes you different from others and when the enemy comes, you're able to stand your ground in prayer. You're able to speak life to yourself and you are able to embrace who you are without being worried about how others will react to you afterwards. Be open to change, be open to examining yourself and knowing who you belong to. Be willing to point out your moments of comparing yourself to others. Be cheerful in embracing whatever it is that God has placed in you. When people look at you and everything connected to you, they should be able to see something different in you. As I draw to a close, I used to say this all the time, and it still stands for anyone going through this transformation right now. Look at yourself and say:

"I am embracing my journey, blooming effortlessly" 

-Ivianna L. Young

As Always: Stay Blessed & Encouraged