I am privileged to have seen many times the way that Jesus brings freedom and healing to us when we are facing pain and trauma. I have learned that God has better things to say about me than I am aware of. It’s like Isaiah 61 says, “…He has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.”
I get really blessed when Jesus shows up and heals pain & brokenness and gives His freedom to others, but the thing is, every time I minister to others, the Holy Spirit puts a spotlight on my own soul so that I can see the unhealed places in my life which He wants to heal.
What a lesson for us all, that as we get really happy to see Jesus show off and make Isaiah 61 a reality in others’ lives, we can also receive healing even as we minister! He gives us good news instead of trauma, He heals our broken hearts, He sets us free and gives us the identity He created us to have.
So often, I realize, I believe who I am and what is possible for me in the framework of what others have said about me, or how they have treated me. I’ve learned that my core beliefs about me are more impacted by the words and actions outside of me, rather than the reality of who God says I am.
The truth that I am seeking to live in is this: I am not identified by my history, or by what I have done or what others have done to me. This is based on 2 Corinthians 5:17, in which Paul declares, “If any person is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old is passed away, the new has come.” Where the “rubber meets the road” is if I can integrate this truth into my life and let it affect my behavior. This is true for all of us, whether you are ministering to others or receiving ministry yourself.
In reality, the greatest obstacles in my life and destiny have not been outside of me, but those things I have believed about me and what’s possible for me that don’t align with what God says about me.
I’m confessing the reality that I need more work in this area! The only answer I know is found in asking God to help me believe what He believes about me, and then have the good sense to let His thoughts fill my mind. That’s the identity reality I want to walk in today.
Let’s commit this week to read Isaiah 61 together (you can read it online right now over here >> )
As we let the message of that passage into our hearts, I would encourage you (and myself) to declare the truths in God’s Word over ourselves. You are in Christ, so you can speak Isaiah 61 as truth for yourself this week. Let’s tell ourselves the truth this week, and allow the Holy Spirit to lift lies off of us and give us His truth in exchange.
— Dr. Mike Hutchings