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

Our Declaration as Sexual Abuse Survivors

This was something that I shared on my personal FB page two years ago today (and only selected certain people to read it). I truthfully forgot that I had written this, but after having read it now, I believe that this needs to go global. With that, I’ll let you read this declaration and then I’ll share some closing comments.

(July 11, 2013)

Good evening everyone. If you see this post, that means you were selected to see this. Not everybody on FB will see this because of the gravity of this. I want you to be at peace when you read this. This was on my spirit all afternoon and I want to share something with you. I title this: "Our Declaration as Sexual Abuse Survivors." Here it goes.

Yes, we are adult survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. But you know, we're still alive. We are alive with a purpose and we have been commissioned to change the world with our voices/testimonies. We have survived the tests, the heartaches, the pain, the rejection, the neglect, the abandonment, the times when we wanted to give up on life. I don't know about you, but we have met for this purpose, to unite and save others from the miry clay of being "stuck." With that said, we who have made it out and are now on the healing side, have no right to point a finger at those who aren't where we are. Consider we used to be at that stuck period (and for some of us, we're getting closer). We as survivors need to come together, and stop declaring whose abuse and pain is worse than someone else's. All that matters is that we survived the pain and the tests, and now that test is a TESTimony. And believe me when I say this: someone who has a voice needs to hear OUR voice.

Think about it, we went through our pain (not because God didn't care about us or was punishing is) because we would be the ones that can make a serious impact within our realm of influence and the world. Can you understand the weight of that? There are many people who think they are experts of abuse who haven’t endured what we did, but as survivors, we can speak with authority and with boldness, unafraid to let others share the journey with us. Not so they can feel sorry for us, but to let them know that we have the ultimate victory. Considering many of our abusers (to include those who have neglected us and abandoned) didn't care if we died, the fact remains that we're still alive and there's a plan for our lives.

Now someone reading this might be wondering, when will I be compensated for the pain that I went through? My brother, my sister, your compensation will come as a result of you sharing your story of how you survived. Trust me, many of us never dreamed of where we would be right now. Many of us have bachelor degrees, masters and even doctorates. Some of us are writers, singers, poets, in short, we’re very creative. Can somebody get excited about this? As we share our lives with others, many people will understand they have a hope and can overcome whatever they may face. Don't fret when others don't understand or care about what you went through. Our lives are to touch those who need it. In a dying world who doesn't care about those who have suffered like we did, we have to be that voice crying in the wilderness (with love, compassion, and mercy). I can declare to you that your life (and what you've been through) is attached to somebody else. Somebody needs you and your story; don't ever doubt that!

I believe we can declare this as abuse survivors: We will go to those who have suffered, get down in the dirt with them (not to stay with them down there), pick them up and watch them blossom. We will never hurt each other as survivors with our words, for we need each other to survive. We have been ordained to this mission field because we can change the world!

(In Closing)
As I shared in a lesson I taught on Tuesday (Mental Illness and the Church’s Response), use discernment as to how much of your story you should share. If you want to hear this lesson, here’s the link:

http://fccdl.in/BicWmubK1

If you want to know more of what I do (and yes, this is a plug), on the right hand column of my blog you’ll find some videos (one is a song where I sing the second verse & bridge – dedicated to sexual abuse survivors; and the other video is an interview where I share my story). I have a novel about child sexual abuse, mental illness and suicide (you can read an excerpt right here):

http://maynetre.com/mm/books/deaf-dumb-blind-stupid-michael-andersons-fight-for-life/

And by all means, if you’re a survivor and this is your declaration, retweet this, share this, and spread the word! Let’s make an impact on the world.

Blessings.

The Mayne Man