For the majority of us, there has been at least one thing spoken to you that, in a sense, broke a part of who you are. That can sometimes include even severing an important part of our personality or talent.
It can be as simple as “you’re not cut out for this job,” to “you will always be nothing and no one will ever love you.”
Depending on how you’re wired, both can break someone in the same way even though the variance between the statements seem vast. The first statement can cause someone to never try to do anything bigger than where they currently are. Never take chances, never apply skill sets, even never marry because that negative statement has caused them to believe they’re incapable.
The pressure of keeping up an identity created out of pain will always crush you, eventually, because we were never created to pretend.
The second statement can cause someone to latch onto pride to “prove the haters wrong,” and vanity to show “I can get whoever I want!“ “I’ll show them” becomes a mantra and your entire life is now one of showing who you are. The high price paid is no one will ever truly know who you are. The pressure of keeping up an identity created out of pain will always crush you, eventually, because we were never created to pretend. We were created to bring God glory through being who He designed us to be.
There are so many statements that we’ve latched onto our identities. More memories that we can trace back and identify as the thing that “grounded” us. Sometimes it’s our own words, thoughts, or our mistakes that have convinced us that we’ll never be successful again. Never love again. Never smile again. Never hope again.
Life is complex and messy and how we respond to our valleys can also affect us deciding to plateau or be brave enough to climb higher, even with knowing that makes the risk of falling greater.
There’s a scene in Maleficent that grips my heart every time I see it. It brings up the reality that those that are sometimes the closest to us can be the ones that cripple us beyond repair. I’m going to share that scene with you. As you watch it, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you an area that you’ve been crippled in.
Seriously. Gets me every time.
If you’ve seen the movie you know that her response to her wings being cut off was deep bitterness and anger. The person that she once was disappeared that day, and it was replaced with someone she later wanted so desperately to change.
When we’ve experienced words from someone we’ve placed in a position to speak into our lives-because it’s not always someone we know, but someone we’ve given that power-it’s natural to become angry with that person, even bitter because the vision we had for our life is now gone.
Maleficent eventually builds a thrown on top of her bitterness. Those that loved her now shuttered at the site of her. She was no longer a person, she was only her rage. Every decision she made filtered through the lens of that intensely blinding pain.
Now Lovelies, think about all of the joy and opportunities you’ve lost because you refused to let go of an emotion that was rightfully yours. When we allow peoples words to take root in our souls, it steals precious moments from us. We aren’t capable of fully enjoying any blessing God gives us because our hearts have been injured.
The incredible thing is that we serve a God that is more than able, more than willing and is happy to break every word curse we’ve come into agreement with. A promise that He gives us is in Joel 2:25 and it’s one I prayed over myself for years.
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.” ~Joel 2:25
This verse reminds me that there’s nothing man can do, or I can do, to keep God from restoring, rebuilding, or reviving my life when I place my pain and my heart back into his hands. The words, the experiences, and the trauma that caused you to believe you will never be whole again are no match with the power and love of our Creator.
He wants to restore us. He wants to set our emotions free. He wants to unlock the chains that are holding us hostage. He wants us to soar and see new heights, experience new levels of joy and peace and revelation but most of all, His LOVE.
Oh, and Lovelies, Maleficent gets her wings back. The same can happen for you. There’s nothing impossible for the God we serve and who so loves us.
Discuss with Your Tribe
- What’s something that’s been said to you that you feel affected you being able to move forward in your life? Even if it’s something you’ve spoken over yourself.
- Have you been responding to life through your bitterness? What about rejection? Anger? Disappointment? If so, how?
- What’s something you’re believing God to rebuild or restore?
- (Play worship music) For the next 10-15 min, I want you to bring your bitterness to the Lord and allow Him to speak into that toxic part of your heart. Then, take the time to forgive the person that spoke those words to you – even if it’s yourself – and begin to thank God for restoring everything the enemy has stolen from you. Now begin to declare over your life your promised blessings.
PPC Study: Hopeless and Heart Sick
Photo by DESIGNECOLOGIST on Unsplash
*Disclaimer – we do not own any rights to the Maleficent video or movie.
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