Dare To Be Derek

This past week has not been the easiest. Self reflection can sometimes be painful, and growth isn’t always the most comfortable thing. You don’t really realize how deep the lies have crept and how quickly they come to the surface until you focus on speaking truth. But over the past week one thing has been highlighted to me that I want to share with you all.

In the book of Luke at the beginning of the story of Jesus’ life, there are a select few moments where people speak of His true identity. When he is first born the angels sing to a crowd of shepherds declaring that the Messiah had come; when Mary and Joseph go to the temple to dedicate their firstborn to the Lord you have Simeon and Anna who both prophesy over the newborn Christ of who He will be one day. Apparently these moments were not wasted on the boy Jesus who, at the age of twelve, stays behind in the temple to continue talking to the priests and teachers even though His parents had left to head home. When asked why He did this, Jesus turns the question around and says “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” You see, He had such a full understanding of who He was that even at the age of twelve He was risking to be who He was.

Potentially the most solidifying moment of the identity of Christ comes in His baptism. This moment in time when all of the members of the Trinity make an appearance to declare the identity of the Son. It is out of the strength of this moment that Jesus, led by the Spirit, is able to face the accuser three times and not waiver in strength even though He has been fasting for forty days (the root of Lent).

Can you imagine this? To be so strong in your identity that you can have no physical strength and yet still choose the truth of who God has said that you are over the falsehood of the enemy? I don’t think I am alone in how insecure I have been in my identity, in fact I think this has been something that has plagued the church for a long time. Our society has made an industry out of telling people where they fit, and the church many times just goes along for the ride. But I believe that the time has come to set people free to receive their identities from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

This is what I am fighting for this Lenten season. I refuse to any longer allow myself to be defined by anyone other than God. This includes myself and the inner voice that I have allowed to wreak inward havoc for far too long. The decision to both fill my mind with Scripture and fast negatively speaking about myself came out of this desire. Eugene Cho Tweeted “When we give up something, replace it with something beautiful. Removing weeds w/o planting something only produces more weeds later. #lent” This is my desire for this season, to not only remove things but to plant new things that will guide me in this next season.

I was made for so much more than I have allowed myself to believe. I am stronger than I have ever given myself credit for. The Lord has called me a warrior and I will war with all the weapons that I have been given. I will love fiercely, I will fight for my purity of mind and heart, seek wisdom with passion, and embrace the joy of the Lord as my strength. I will become the man who He says that I am, with no apologies.

I hope that you take some time to ask the Father what He says about you today and allow yourself to receive what He says about you! I want you to know that you are loved and I am thankful for the way God has our journeys cross even if it’s just through the word wide web! Stay open to His leading and rest in His love and I will catch up with you in a week!