As you know if you are familiar with my blog, my husband, Mark, and I have been appointed by Jesus to bring His healing to those who are suffering from trauma and torment brought on by the Enemy's attacks on their lives. Trauma and torment are common tactics used by the devil and his agents to keep people from knowing their true identity. And identity defines our self-worth, so what makes a better target for the Enemy than how we perceive our value?
I love explaining to people that the Scripture tells us that God chose us [in Him] before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4); that He knew us before we were conceived in our mother's womb (Jeremiah 1:5); and the most amazing Scripture to me ... that we had glory with Him before the world existed (John 17:5)! You see, I believe that being made in the image of God, we are spirit beings as He is Spirit. And I also believe that we existed in Heaven [with God] before He and Jesus even formed the world. Furthermore, I believe Scripture tells us that God chooses us, sets us apart, and calls us to a specific purpose for Him. In other words, He decides when to send our spirit being here to earth, in these bodies of flesh, to walk out the assignment we are given to reveal His Kingdom here on earth. We have a divine purpose for being here!
But here's the caveat: our Most High God wants our embedded spirit to choose to serve Him and carry out our purpose to share the Good News that salvation from sin and death is available to all mankind. And the next step in our calling is to declare that we have the power and authority of Christ to restore the earth to the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Heaven -- to remove the influence that Satan's kingdom of darkness has over the world. But that doesn't automatically happen, as is easily discerned by observing the current state of the planet.
God's gift of Free Will puts the onus on us. We must make a decision to follow Jesus, receive our salvation, and then walk out our assignment as an ambassador of Heaven. BUT, we have an Enemy whose sole goal is to keep us from knowing our value and worth, so that we never discover that divine purpose that is written on our pages in God's Book of Life. If we don't understand at the deepest level of our soul and spirit who we are -- that we are made in the very image of God! -- then it is so easy for the devil to send attacks against our bodies, our souls, and yes, our spirits, to cause trauma and pain. Molestation, drugs, sex, and even a lack of nurturing [being ignored, neglected, rejected, and never heard] can destroy that connection to God that every human being is born with.
We all crave validation. We have an innate desire to be wanted; to be cherished and loved; to have a sense that others value us and we have worth to the human race. But again, none of that is automatic in a sinful world. If we haven't chosen Jesus as our Savior, we look for our value and worth from people, and they are poor substitutes for the One who created us, loves us, died for us, and who sent us here with a divine purpose for our lives. So, we look for validation [which is confirmation and approval that we have value] from people and things which the devil uses to manipulate us, torment us, and lead us down paths of unrighteousness. We also look for our worth on Social Media -- which, I'm sorry, folks, promulgates so much fake, dishonest, and false identity. Or we numb the pain of unworthiness with drugs or meaningless sex.
What really grieves the Lord, though, is the tool of molestation that is used against children. So many of the Beloveds that Jesus sends to our ministry are adult victims of child molestation; both men and women. And molestation violates not only the body of the child, but destroys the innate self-worth of them as a human being, leaving them open to the lies of the Enemy who easily convinces them they are guilty, dirty, shameful, disgusting, unworthy, and unlovable. That's about as far from the image of God [that is our true identity] that you can get.
But I'm here to tell you that we must recognize these tactics of the Enemy and we must not only seek our own validation from the Lord, but earnestly establish that identity in our children! If this nation and the world are to come out of the darkness that we see in these school shootings, the violence in our major cities, and the rampant drug abuse and homelessness, then we must develop some strategies to restore God-given purpose and identity in our children. That might sound like just more typical Christian talk that no one actually expects to happen, but we've ignored the epidemic of depression, anxiety, fear, anger, insecurity, and loneliness that has led to not only anger and bitterness, but increased violence and suicide among our children. And believe me when I say that the devil doesn't differentiate between adults and children. Every human soul is fair game. The Enemy, working through a pandemic and technology, has managed to isolate millions of Americans, making them vulnerable to his methods of destroying their self-worth and identity. Let's end the trauma and torment for people of all ages, and introduce them to their validation in Christ Jesus. That is the hope of the world and it's time we walk boldly in our purpose for being here.
Galatians 1:10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.