“The Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit [assuring us] that we [believers] are children of God.”

‭‭ROMANS‬ ‭8:16‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Something I believe is often elusive to even the most devout believers is a grasp of our identity as children of God. Through his use of lies and scare tactics, it’s something the enemy is always trying to take away from us. Satan loses power over us when we are able to be secure in our faith and our identity as God’s children. As often as it is discussed throughout scripture, our human minds still struggle to wrap around the depth and enormity of our Heavenly Father’s love for us.

We all face more days than not where life feels too big and the thought of trying to take another step feels too heavy. This is how Satan wants us to feel. He wants us to believe that it’s all on our shoulders…WE must make the right decision on our own, WE must handle everything coming our way, WE must come up with all the answers for all the things that haven’t even happened yet. It’s no wonder we can feel like we are trying to walk across the ocean under water, unable to see the sky and unable to catch our breath.

What the adversary is trying to hide from us is the reality that none of it is on our shoulders. That’s not real. All we are asked to do is our best. God wants us to do our best to follow His will, seek His guidance, and have faith that He will get us through. As long as God knows we are doing our best to follow Him, He will make sure we get where He wants us to go. Even when we mess up BIG TIME, He can make something extraordinary out of our mess. This is one of those relationships where it truly is the thought that counts.

We are going to experience things in life that will shake us (and our faith) to the core. I speak from personal experience when I say that, and also that it’s not always easy to find our way back. Things we believe in and trust will fall apart in front of us. Plans we make and our vision of how life should be will often disintegrate, and we will feel betrayed and alone because our personal expectations haven’t been met.

Well, guess what? It’s those very expectations that lead to heartache and disappointment. Our only expectation should be that no matter what is going on, it’s temporary. Our time on this earth is temporary. When we place all our self-worth on earthly things such as monetary or professional success, whether we’re married or single, what kind of car we drive or home we live in, we are never going to grasp who we truly are as God’s children.

We are meant to love each other, forgive each other, help each other grow stronger in faith, and support each other through the daily struggles of life. We can be sure that the longer it takes us to learn to do those things consistently, the more opportunities God is going to put in our lives for that same life lesson. We all have the Holy Spirit with us to help with discernment, and we need to take advantage of that blessing incessantly.

What is it we gain from shutting out people who truly love and care about us? They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. What can you do differently going forward that will break from your old patterns? What is keeping you from doing them and trusting that God is there with you to walk you through the fear of doing something different this time? I’m trying to answer those questions for myself today…here’s praying God will provide what I need, and an extra prayer that He will do the same for you. For all we know, He trying to do that, but we’re refusing to accept what He’s offering us.