Happy New Year!
Our IDENTITY series begins here!
The story about Saul before he became king that never ceases to amaze me. Perhaps because nine years ago, I felt insecure and afraid like Saul in many ways.
King Saul was appointed the first king of Israel by Prophet Samuel. Saul had his excuses, and he shared that he was a Benjamite who came from the smallest tribe in Israel and that his family was the humblest family in the tribe of Benjamin. He figured he was not qualified. In fact, Saul felt so insecure that he was a no-show on the day of his so-called inauguration! People then started searching for him…and he was found hiding in a pile of baggage! Imagine searching for your next king and finding him hiding in fear…what a sight!
Fast forward thousands of years later. Right after our first Explicit Conference in September of 2014, God suddenly accelerated its growth beyond my wildest imagination. We received invitations to three countries within nine months after our first conference, when I had no vision of growing it at the time! I literally felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. Certainly, God should choose someone else who knew what to do!
I felt unqualified.
I felt small.
I felt like hiding.
However, I had an experience in 2017 when Explicit was three years old that the Lord keeps reminding me of from time to time. My then assistant, Lea Notch, and I visited Bethel Church in Redding, California, and spent a night eating and fellowshipping with a group of some of their Bethel School of the Supernatural Ministry students. One of them, Rabson, a young gentleman from Tanzania, Africa, happened to be there and had a word of encouragement from the Lord for me that he was impressed to share.
With his sparkling eyes; steady gaze, and firm, serious voice, he began to speak with great conviction. May these words from Rabson speak to your heart and encourage you today as well:
“…You have to learn how to battle with a totally different view. You are not going to panic when things are hard. The picture I saw was that He was getting you on a bulldozer. Now, bulldozing is a very rough. I saw you having some kind of a dialogue. You were shocked and arguing with God like, “How do I get on that giant bulldozer?” It was HUGE! “How do I do this? I’m too small to do this!”
Then He was opening your eyes like, “You can do this!” You were looking at it with a wrong perspective. “[God said] “Look at it with MY view! See your spirit man as huge! You are bigger than what you see yourself. You can handle this. You can do this!” Then you started driving it. It was challenging to do it. You are at this place for a reason. God showed me this thing grew into such a big thing that it scared you, but I know you have what it takes, and this season is to just broaden your scope of seeing yourself.
It’s about how you view yourself. If you have a small view of who you are, you will build something that equals your view of you. You are not building something that is yours. You are building His, so definitely you have to buy HIS picture, HIS vision. View things the way He does. View yourself the way He does. This is huge! This is big! You can do it.”
I need reminding of who I am in Christ. When I increasingly embrace how He sees me, confidence, boldness, and great faith percolate and rise within me. With every ounce of my being, I want to bring Him the glory he deserves with the time I have left on earth.
These past few months were a bit hard for me. My dad died unexpectedly in October, and about three days after his funeral in early December, my mom-in-law, who lived with my family and me for over 28 years, passed away unexpectedly as well. It was a fall/winter season of grieving their loss. Thankfully, they both knew Jesus, which comforts me, but I still miss them. Once again, I was sobered by how short life is and how every day is a gift from God and an opportunity to live and shine for eternal purposes.
And new life and a new season begin for us in 2024!
God is passionate about who you are and who you are becoming! I am, too - whether I know you personally or not, my heart is full of hopes and dreams for you to live out of the overflow of His Spirit that works in and through you.
You have an important piece to contribute to the tapestry of what God wants to accomplish throughout the earth.
We do things for God and WITH God out of the place from who we believe we are in Christ.
YOU ARE a magnificent sign and a wonder purposed to make a difference.
Let’s grow proactively in knowing and embracing who God says we are – and He has a lot to say. Hear His voice!
Enjoy the series this month!
“The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the
unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters!” Romans 8:19 TPT
Happy New Year!
Michele and Team
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