It’s been a topsy-turvy week. We had snow, which was lovely, but my work schedule has been all over the place and frankly I’m not entirely sure what day of the week it is. Posting this blog every Wednesday definitely helps me have a place-holder for the week.
The enemy has been hard and heavy on my trail this month. I continue to fight with discouragement daily. And some of the people around me in my life are also struggling with the start of the year.
In light of the heaviness of my heart, I want to pass along some encouragement for all of us.
The Holy Spirit is gracious to bring to mind what we need to fight discouragement, and He did just that the other night. When the voice of negativity was speaking loud to me, music suddenly began in my head, a worship song that whispered life and love. It was bedtime, so I lay down in the dark and focused on that song until I fell asleep. My external situation was not fixed, but I slept well and was able to get up the next morning and keep moving forward.
Music is powerful; there is no denying it. Especially when words from the Bible are set to music, the enemy cannot stand listening to that.
One of my all-time favorite songs that is packed with words that God uses to define us is by Jason Gray and it’s called “I Am New.”
The bridge of the song is packed full of words of life that God speaks about us! ”Forgiven, beloved, hidden in Christ, made in the image of the Giver of Life, righteous and holy, reborn and remade, accepted and worthy, this is our new name. This is who we are now.”
Don’t believe me? I took that list and looked up the words in the Bible, and following are some verses that support what God believes about us:
- Forgiven (1 John 1:9 NIV: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”)
- Beloved (John 3:16 NIV: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life.” Colossians 3:12 NIV: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”)
- Hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3 NIV:“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”)
- Made in the image of the Giver of Life (Genesis 1:26 NIV: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”)
- Righteous (Psalm 1:6 NIV: “For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.” Psalm 15:2 NIV: “The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart”)
- Holy (1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price; therefore, honor God with your bodies.”)
- Reborn (1 Peter 1:23 NIV: “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”)
- Remade (Psalm 66:10 NIV: “For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.”)
- Accepted (Ephesians 1:5 NIV: “In love, He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will”)
- Worthy (Matthew 10:31 NIV: “So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”)
- This is our new name (Revelation 2:17 NIV: “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.”)
This is who we are now! We are a new creation: 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.”
I won’t just stop with those song lyrics. There are many more ways God sees us that we may not see in ourselves. Here are a few more:
- Fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14 NIV: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”)
- Salt (Matthew 5:13 NIV: “You are the salt of the earth.”)
- Light (Matthew 5:14 NIV: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”)
- Victorious (Romans 8:37 NIV: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”)
- Saved by Grace (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”)
- Clean (Psalm 51:7 NIV: “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Isaiah 2:18 NIV: ”‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; thought they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’”)
- Strong (Isaiah 40:29 NIV: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”)
- Able (Philippians 4:13 NIV: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”)
This is how we speak life into the darkness, the discouragement, the frustration. We sing it. We speak it. We read the verses from the Bible and use those words as a sword against the enemy.
I’ll be real and honest: it’s SO hard to do that in the moment. I know I get almost tunnel vision and it’s hard to hear or see anything else, or shift my attention from the attack. The real truth is that I feel even now like I could cry at any moment. I don’t feel victorious or any of those truths listed above.
In spite of this, our God is so gracious. His invitation to draw near to His presence and speak the words of truth against the enemy never ceases. It’s never too late to turn the tide and take action.
You can get up in the morning. You can face the day. You can keep standing tall and loving and ministering.
We are never out of reach. This is who we are now.
Blessings,
~Lynne
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