I Am Who You Say I AM

My whole life I feel like I've had identity issues. I've struggled tremendously with knowing who I am and what my purpose is. I've always felt different, like I lacked something that came so easily to other people. When I was a kid I used to tell everyone I thought I was an alien. I asked my parents repeatedly if I was adopted. They assured me I wasn't. Maybe it's because I'm an Enneagram type 4- the artist type who struggles the most with identity issues. Things got better with identity issues when I came back to God six years ago, but it hasn't all been smooth sailing. I still forget who I am at times, but when I come back to my purpose and identity in God, I'm ecstatic.

This recently happened once again. I was heartsick and so unhappy about so many things in my life. I cried out to God for all these things I thought I wanted, but He refused to give them to me. I was angry. I struggled tremendously with it, but said to myself "okay, well, I guess I'll make the best of this, and take this time to worship God". Then I remembered at the core of my being who I am...a worshiper. Oh yes, that's right. It felt like coming home again. It felt like an epiphany as I remembered both my identity and my purpose. I live to worship God and please Him. My joy returned in full measure and I didn't care about getting all those things I thought I wanted to make me happy. The truth of it is- God loves us too much to give us anything less than the best, which is Himself. He will not give us something which will distract us from Him and keep us from His exceeding greatness.

Worshiping God is the most wonderful thing in the world. It's invigorating to the body, mind, soul and spirit. Sometimes we forget that, especially if we are experiencing severe trials in our lives. What we need at these times is a worship breakthrough. A worship breakthrough is accomplished by a heart-cry, a shout/ cry of worship, letting out your worship from deep inside.

In the Old Testament, the warriors sent out the worshipers first before the battle, and they ended up winning the war. (2 Chronicles 20:1-30) The following article is excellent in explaining how worship is used as a weapon of warfare to overcome obstacles in our lives.

Worship — Weapon of Warfare (Part 2)
https://refinedinthefire.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/worship-weapon-of-warfare-part-2/

Worship precedes victory. It requires suspending all thought of what other people think of us. Let the Spirit cry out deep within you, and let the love for God that is deep within your heart come forth. The love we have for God is like a fire and we have to kindle that fire.

Hebrews 12:29 “For our God is a consuming fire.”

His love comes and burns within our hearts. He fills our hearts with the deepest kind of love. It’s like a passionate inferno of devouring flames that devours every impure thing within us. It's a cleansing and purifying type of love. It doesn't destroy us, but makes us better. It purifies us like gold in the fire.

The first command in the Bible is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. This is worshiping God in Spirit and in truth. We worship Him with all that is within us and live for Him alone.

We don’t worship useless idols; we worship the one true God. When we worship God we cannot care what anyone thinks of us. It's here we find our identity. Others may worship idols and think it strange that we worship the one true God but it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. It's not about us and them; it’s about us and God. He comes first. We love Him first and others second. So when other people don’t understand, it’s okay, because they don’t have to.

Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

John 4:23-24 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

This means we can worship God anywhere: at church, at home, in the car or anywhere in the world!

Warning though: if you worship in your car while driving you may get some strange looks. I sure have, but I don't mind because it's worth it to me.

Do this DAILY:
1. Put worship music on.
2. Forget about your surroundings or what people will think.
3. Sing, shout or use the spoken word to express your deepest love for Jesus. Let your deep worship come out. This is worshiping God in spirit and truth. Let your heart-cry come out. This is a release and expression of the deepest love in our hearts for God. It’s passionate, it’s intense and it’s beautiful to God. It breaks through the darkness surrounding us and pierces right through to the heart of God. It breaks down every barrier that would seek to separate us from God.
4. It’s a spiritual breakthrough that will be nourishment to your soul and help you fight spiritual battles. The enemy hates our heart-cries and wants to keep us silent, but this heart-cry is a cry of defiance to the enemy of our souls. This is a cry that says: “My heart belongs to Jesus, and He is victorious, so therefore I'm victorious too!"

"Yet in all of these things I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me.” Romans 8:37