WOBS ~ Focus on Rachel ~ Friday Reflection

Friday’s reading on Rachel ended with a prayer that I would like to share with you here…

Father, forgive me for letting my identity rest on whose wife or mother I am or what kind of job I have.  I don’t want to view other women as my rivals but as potential friends and even soul mates.  Please lead me to the friendships You know are best for my life and help me to be patient with the process.  In Jesus name, Amen.

I did change this prayer up slightly…the authors said, Please lead me to the friendships I desire…, that is not always a friendship made in heaven.  I felt for me, in my life, it is always better to ask for the friends that God knows will make me better and hold me accountable to my Christian walk.

Now this prayer spoke to me in another way.  It gave me a perspective on Rachel that I had not truly considered this week, it also reminded me of something I wrote way back in January of 2012.  I am going to share it with you here and I think it is a good reminder of who I am, and maybe who you are too.

I realize that more than not I have always defined myself by who I am through someone else.  The daughter of Ruth and Frank Taylor….the sister of Mike, David or Scott Taylor….the wife of Peter Muzik….the mother of Sara and Keith….Mae Mae to Josh, Ayden, Ashton and Avery; I realize that I have very rarely defined myself to other people as a child of the King.  I mean I tell people who I am a Christian, I don’t hide that fact; but it is not the first label that I use to describe myself.  Maybe….it should be though!!  Maybe if I start defining me FIRST, as His daughter, internally and externally, the devil will find it much harder to penetrate my fortress.

I truly despise the labels that we place on ourselves that are not from Him.   My past has molded me into the person that I am today, it does not define me.  I have gone through some personal trials in my life, I have regrets about how I lived my life and some decisions that I made.  I am not anyone’s victim, though; I made decisions that were wrong for me and my walk with the Lord.  I do not come from a broken home, I was never abused by anyone, my father didn’t reject me…this is where the devil has a field day with me, I hear it loud and clear from him, “You have no excuse.”  You should not have strayed from the Lord.”  “You have no one to blame for your actions, but you!”  “There are so many broken women in this world with legitimate excuses for turning their back on God…you don’t have one.”  The label from my past would read, “Faithless one!”

I used a list similar to Lysa’s to deal with what the devil was screaming at me and to finally come to the place where I could forgive myself..it is a list of who I am through Him…

I am:

• A child of God (Romans 8:16)
• Forgiven (Colossians 1: 13-14)
• Saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9)
• Justified (Romans 5:1)
• A new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17)
• Led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14)
• Kept in Safety wherever I go (Psalms 91:11)
• Casting all my cares on Jesus (1 Peter 5:7)
• Doing all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13)
• Bringing every thought into captivity (2 Corinthians 10:5)
• Being transformed by a renewed mind (Romans 12:1-2)
• The righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)
•  An imitator of Jesus (Ephesians 5:1)
• Filled with laughter and rejoicing (Job 8:21)

I am safe in Jesus!!!!  I try to live by these truths every day.  Look up the Bible verses next to each “I am” and feel His truth fill your soul!

Truth:  We are nothing without Him!  We cannot live the way that He wants us to live unless we make Him the center of our lives.  We have to be centered on Him in every part of our lives; as a woman of God, as a wife, as a mother, as a grandmother, as a daughter, as a sister, as a friend, as an employee, as a volunteer; whatever your title is, keep Him in the center and through Him all things are possible.

We do this by being persistent, by going to the Lord in prayer and asking Him to guide us and direct us.  He is my Father and I am His daughter and I will praise Him and thank Him that I am defined by Him.  The more that we go to Him in prayer, the more that we spend time in His presence…the easier it is to recognize His voice. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)  I know that I have no power other than the power I get from Him and I so want His power.

“Hi, my name is Patti and I am a child of God and I plan to live in Sweet Victory!”