I used to struggle with tormenting self-criticism and condemnation. But as I walked with God and we became more and more intimate, He healed my heart and started showing me progressively who I really am.
The Word of God calls us treasure in jars of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7). The treasure is us, and God is in us. We are inextricably united with God.
One with God
1 Corinthians 6:17 (Voice) says:
But when you are joined with the Lord, you become one spirit with Him.
Apparently, God is so enthralled with people that He chose to become one with them, whether they know it, accept it, or not. He has permanently tied the knot (Ephesians 5:31-32). The enemy of our souls is constantly trying to hoodwink believers into believing they are separate from God. If that is allowed, he takes the believer out of rest and into toiling to become someone they already are and to receive something that they already have simply by inheritance.
When we see ourselves (and others) as problems who have problems, we magnify the problems that do exist. When we lose sight of our oneness with God, we lose confidence in the One Who loves us and gave everything up for us (Galatians 2:20).
When we lose sight of this onness, our lives become about us trying to figure life out and do something. For me, life was a never-ending self-improvement program. Thank God I abandoned that mess and you can too!
Your Rightness is Finished!
When we operate separately from God, we cannot hear clearly what we are invited to do as partners with God. We function out of deficit with the illusion that the solution was not already released two thousand years ago.
On the cross Jesus cried, “It is finished!” (John 9:30).
The Word “finished” is “teleo” in the Greek, meaning:
“complete, execute, conclude, discharge (a debt), accomplish, make an end, expire, fill up, finish, go over, pay, and perform.”
God chose you in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) to be without spot or blemish before Him in Love. You are His workmanship or “poem” to the world (Ephesians 2:10). And He secured you as righteous, based on His work, not ours (2 Corinthians 5:21). Your old fallen self was crucified with Him (Galatians 2:20) and you were resurrected with Him (Romans 6:5-80) as a new creation filled with righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24).
You Are Already Made New
2 Corinthians 5:17, 21 says:
Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new. For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with him. (TPT)
There is nothing incomplete or fallen about who you truly are (Ephesians 4:23-24, 1 John 4:17). The Word says you are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10). Your sanctification (your being set apart in Christ) is complete because the Words says that Christ, indeed, IS your sanctification.
But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30, NASB.)
From the Inside Out
The Passion Translation brings out the truth of the finished work of salvation, which includes your true identity, being worked from the inside out. And we all need God’s help to do just that!
Now you must continue to make this new life fully manifested as you live in the holy awe of God—which brings you trembling into his presence. God will continually revitalize you, implanting within you the passion to do what pleases him. (Philippians 2:12-13, TPT)
There is so much RIGHT with you! However, what does remain is the God awakening you to who you already are!
Who You Truly Are
The issue is not that we have to struggle to be better. The issue is that we must awaken to the truth that you are already a beloved son and daughter in God’s image and likeness (Ephesians 1:4, Genesis 1:26). And it is God Who unveils who you truly are. This is so holy and powerful creation groans for it!
Romans 8:19 says
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. (NASB)
So, give yourself permission to agree with what God is saying about you. Agreeing with Him honors Him! He did an amazing job with you! Let him unveil YOU to you! You are breathtaking – you look just like Him (1 John 4:17)!
Much Love,
Catherine
