Identity

Be honest, how many of the following statements seem familiar?

– I’m not good enough
– I can do it myself
– I don’t need your help
– I need to fix this
– No one really cares about me
– I don’t like myself
– Everyone forgot about me
– I’m all alone

How often do you say things or do things with the main motivation behind it being someone’s approval? Someone’s attention? Do you lack self-confidence? Do you struggle with guilt and shame?

I don’t know if you were honest with yourself, but most of the above applies to me on a pretty regular basis. And by pretty regular, I mean daily. Here’s the problem though, these statements don’t describe who I am. These statements are the thoughts of an orphan. Over the past several years, I’ve learned the importance of one word: identity. Who are you? How do you identify yourself? What does your hope lie in? And far too often, I believe these lies that tell me I’m an orphan. These lies that tell me I am truly all alone. These lies affect my relationships, my family, my thoughts, all of life.

But these statements are the thoughts of an orphan, and I am a daughter. No, not because I have parents and didn’t grow up in an orphanage, but because I have been bought and redeemed by the God of the Universe. The God who holds the entire world and sky and stars in His hands bought me with a price. He considers me a pearl of great prize. I am His beloved. He knew me before I was born. My name is written on His hand. I am His and He is mine.

Here are some statements that reflect my true identity. My identity as a daughter.
– I am totally and completely accepted
– It’s ok to mess up
– I am free from worry
– I know that the Lord has a plan for my life.
– This plan will be full of joy and full of pain
– Lord, I believe. Help me in my unbelief
– Christ is my only strength and my only hope

I am free. As a daughter, I can live the freest life imaginable. I am free from worry, I am free from approval of those around me. I can be confident in Christ. That His Love for me is great, it is strong, and it covers a multitude of sins.

Last summer, I sat on a tree stump at an orphan camp somewhere in the middle of nowhere Ukraine and cried and cried. We were in the midst of our toughest camp and I was overcome by the pain in these children’s lives. But in the same instant, the Lord made me painfully aware of the incredible pain in my own life. Please hear me when I say this: You have deep pain in your life. And you and I have probably found socially acceptable ways of dealing with it, but it is there. I was overcome that day last summer realizing I want attention, I want acceptance, I want to been seen, I want to be known. These desires often overtake everything else.

And these children simply wanted the same.

As I look ahead to the summer, I will be working at camps with orphans, with Ukrainian churches, with Americans, with teens, with youth pastors. We all have the potential to act like sons and daughters and rest in that identity, but I have a feeling I’ll put on my orphan hat pretty often along with all of those I interact with this summer. Please pray with me that I, along with all of us, would choose to believe the freeing, beautiful truths of who I am in Christ. I am realizing perhaps the most important thought when entering into orphan ministry is : “I was an orphan.” And the second most important thought is realizing perhaps that all ministry is orphan ministry. Remember that you are a son or a daughter. Rest in that. Know that. Live freely.

“Be kind

…for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” – Ian MacClaren

 
Here’s to camp season 2014…