The War On This "Identity Crisis"

You know, I was getting ready for work this morning, and right before I ate breakfast, this was dropped in my spirit.

Why don't we in the body of Christ sow into the lives of others (via an encouraging word, a word from the Lord, intercession, standing in the gap, etc.)? As I look at my life and many around me, I’m finding that there are so many who are self-sabotaging their futures because of past mistakes (or childhood abuse). I’ll be honest, when I was young and even now that I’m old, I find myself wanting to punish myself when I do something wrong whether it be in thought, word and deed. And this happens knowing that God loves me and will forgive me when I repent. Now watch this, many think that when they sin (and I’ve done this at times too), that God is mad at them and he hates them. That couldn’t be further from the truth. He hates sin, not YOU! All of this self-inflicting, self-pain, self-punishment is all part of the devil's plan, to divide us from people, but to also divide us from ourselves.

You know, Mark 3:24-26 says the following: If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. Did you get that? If the enemy is divided, he cannot stand and he has an end. When the enemy ensnares people with the sole intent to divide them from themselves, that's what brings about an "IDENTITY CRISIS." I don't know about you, but I'm tired of seeing my brothers and my sisters being picked off by the devil! That spirit can no longer hang over my brother’s heads & my sister’s heads.

So, how do we declare war on those with an Identity Crisis? As I am someone who speaks on mental illness, I want to be very careful with this. In most cases, many illnesses were brought on a person not by choice (especially when they have experienced trauma in their lives). In these cases (and this is the focal point of this particular blogpost), this all came from a demonic spirit. This is the war I’m referring to. But wait, this war is not against flesh and blood (it’s a spiritual war when it’s all said and done). But back to my question: how do we declare war on those with an Identity Crisis? First, we need to have a faith so grounded in Christ, notice I said Christ and not in people. As we live day to day, we see the world getting worse and worse (increase of wars, love of many growing cold – if you want to read the source of this, check out Matthew 24:1-14). As a result, people in the world are being picked off by the devil, but we in the body of Christ need to be extremely careful, that we don’t get picked off by the devil. Although the devil seeks those he may devour (1 Peter 5:8), but let me say this: 1 John 5:4 declares that this is the victory that has overcome the world—even our faith.

Second, it's time for some serious intercession within the Body of Christ for each other in a spirit of love and not to show how spiritual you are. We all need to experience the healing power of Christ especially in this hour, for Jesus is the Ultimate Healer. Believe me, a healing is needed for the minds, bodies, souls and spirits of many. We can sing Hezekiah Walker's I Need You To Survive, but how seriously do we take it? As for me personally, I’m determined (for His glory and not my own) to stand in the gap as an open and yielded vessel for those in the body of Christ who are hurting and struggling with an Identity Crisis.

Blessings,

The Mayne Man

His Hand Is On You

It’s my prayer that you are reading this and you’re feeling well today. If not, take comfort in this post. If you’re like me, you’ve gone through something traumatic in your life (and probably still are) where you feel that your life was sifted from you and/or has caused you to put your life on hold. As a result, you are either living in fear or indecision. You can overcome by praising God for the fact that you're still alive, and you are here with a God-given purpose. What was supposed to sift you out or caused you to put your life on hold didn't kill you, so that means God has His hands on you even though you wonder why you had to go through. Feel free to ask Him why, He loves you. There are probably a lot more questions going through your mind, and it’s totally understandable. I dedicate this blog post to anyone who has gone through a traumatic past and is still trying to get through it (or has gotten through it).

I want to extend my hand to you in friendship and in love. I understand that you might have felt alone at times wanting to give up in life. That was my life (and I’ll put this out and say I struggle with it too). Your past may not be my past, but mine was traumatic and I’m sure yours was too. That’s one thing we have in common. Just know that we’re on this road to recovery together and He has His hands on you.

I know there are going to be some people who read this and ridicule me; I’m cool with that (considering I’m used to it). The one thing remains though, I’m still alive and so are you. They tried to kill us, but we’re still here. We have scars, but we’re still here. I hope you were able to at least smile or cry tears of joy. Believe me when I say, it’s OK to cry. Sometimes you have to on this road to recovery.

I know there are times when we’ve tried to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, know that we can’t do this alone. We need each other on a horizontal level (and say I need help), and we need to say to God that we need help. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help, discern who to ask for help (because not everybody will have your best interest at heart). The unique thing about us considering we’ve survived what we did, is that we have sympathy for others (which is lacking in this world today). Everyone today is so selfish and out for themselves. And to add insult to injury, there are those who haven’t gone through what you did, and they tell you either to “get over it,” or “so what if I didn’t go through what you did; you need to grow up.” As a result, you end up feeling like a second-class citizen. I understand there are those who have good intentions, but they will never understand what you feel if they haven’t lived through what you had to.

A word of encouragement: if you make it out before me, help me out; and I’ll do the same vice versa. We’re in this together.

I don’t know who has heard this, but I’m sure an evil spirit will tell you that Jesus was raped (which He was), but He didn’t say a word, so that means you shouldn’t say a word now that you made it out (or you should’ve allowed it to continue without saying a word). This is totally misinterpreting the Scripture. Your voice needs to be heard. If more voices are raised, we can truly change the world to wrong the rights. If we abused victims are accountable, the abusers, the people who neglected us need to be accountable. There must be a balance, wouldn’t you agree? For many of you, your stories have touched me deeply and I want to say right here and right now that I love you and that I will always have your back. If you need an ear (in most cases, many of us know the answers to some of the questions in our mind and just need to get what’s in our heart and spirit out), just let me know and I’ll listen.

One lingering question you might have, why did I go through what I did? Well, we may not know the answer right now. But I am willing to believe that you’re still alive to either share your testimony to someone who’s about to go through what you did (or is trying to find a way out of their pain), or you are to write a book, and the list goes on. I don’t know who that is for along with this. You may have a ministry to teenagers, or a ministry geared to men (if you’re a man) or women (if you’re a woman). And the fact you’re still here to share your story is proof that He has His hands on you. I hope right now you can raise your hands towards heaven and say thank you Jesus for allowing me to stand here today.

I know what you went through has caused you to either live in fear or wanting to not pursue your childhood dreams. You might even feel that your life is on hold. I understand totally. Because you’re still here and on the road to recovery, take a moment to find out what is your greatest passion in life and what is your greatest talent (meaning: you know deep down inside you’re good at it? Once you find that out, pursue it and God will bless you (because His hand is on you). Acknowledge Him as you’re on that path.  I also know that your healing isn’t an overnight thing, it’s a process. God understands and will heal you in due time. Meanwhile, pursue your unique calling from Him, because the world needs your gift (and it’s not your body, OK). Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

In closing: shake off your fears and don’t be afraid to live. It’s my prayer that this post encourages you. Feel free to comment (if you want to remain anonymous, please do so). Your destiny from God is waiting for you. Don’t worry about failing. You will fall down, just get up and know that His hand is on you.