We treat ourselves like a homemade recipe. We look at the “ingredients” or all the different aspects of ourselves and we begin to judge them through the lens of self-perception and often pain. We begin to toss to the side those qualities that have been rejected or devalued by those around us. At the same time, we begin adding the “right ingredients” that we believe will be more acceptable. Before we realize it, often times we have created a homemade recipe of ourselves that we believe others will love and accept.
Recently, I had an encounter in the spirit, in which I found myself in a courtroom. When I asked God where I was, I heard “in a courtroom of accusation.” I asked God why I was there. I heard the Spirit say that it was because of a judgment that I was holding against myself. When I asked God what I needed to do about it, he handed me a sledge hammer. I knew immediately in my spirit that I had to tear down the judgment that I had formed in my own soul. I saw myself in the spirit, taking the sledgehammer to the courtroom and tearing it apart, leaving no room for the enemy to accuse me. I felt heaviness lifting and a peace flooding my soul. By judging ourselves in this accusatory way, we form idols of a false identity with our own design, rejecting the original recipe or blueprint of our creator. The enemy encourages us to exchange what is real for a lie. If we are females and we have experienced ungodly attention that brought pain, we may begin to fashion a whole new persona that is more masculine, tough and strong. We can throw out the feminine qualities that we believe in our soul would continue to draw unwanted focus and pain. Perhaps it is our personality, a dream or passion that gets targeted in a negative way. We add a little of this and a lot of that to our recipe, forming ourselves into our own image or forming an idol with our own hands that we live life through. Isaiah 44:9-10 says,
Those who fashion idols are empty. Their precious things do not profit. Their witnesses do not see or know, so they will be put to shame. Who fashions a god or casts an idol for no profit?
Verse 24 has God’s response:
Thus says Adonai, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am Adonai, Maker of all things, stretching out the heavens alone, spreading the earth abroad by Myself…” (TLV)
When we find redemption from our maker, who formed us and knows us, we find freedom from the enemy’s accusation and bondage. Our souls enter into peace when we live in loving acceptance of who God says we are. We are powerfully creative. We can use our creativity to partner with God and live from the beauty of our design, made in His likeness and image, or we can form an image of our own making. The choice is ours.
So God saw everything that He made, and behold it was very good, (Genesis 1:31, TLV).
Steps in Pursuit
- Prayerfully ask God to show you anything that you have judged as unimportant or unwanted parts of yourself. Ask God to help you see yourself the way he sees you in those places.
- Practice forgiving yourself and others for any rejection or pain that has led to the loss of important parts of your true identity.
- Speak love and life over those parts of your identity, thanking God for his amazing original design.
We are a one of a kind masterpiece formed by the Maker of the universe. Join me in honoring God our creator by honoring the beauty of original design in ourselves and one another.
Continue the Pursuit,
Denise
