OH, THAT I KNEW WHERE I MIGHT FIND HIM
(Job 23:3).
There came a time in my life when I realized that I could not live with myself anymore. In me lived an Orphan Me, a Bad Me, a Despicable Me, and a Victim Me, formed by the negative, destructive beliefs of the father-of-lies, since childhood. How often did I want to save myself from the rejection of the Victim Me, but I could not carry it out. How often did I want to rescue myself from the shame of the Despicable Me, but I could not perform it. How often did I want to free myself from the condemnation of the Bad Me, but I could not succeed. How often did I try to break loose from the abandonment of the Orphan Me, but I did not know how to. I realized that as long as these OLD MAN characters lived in me, there was no way out of their miserable effect on my life.
YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME WHEN YOU SEEK ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART
(Jeremiah 29:13).
Finally, I sank down in utter powerlessness. I could not live with my tormented self anymore. I had come to the end of ME. There was only one thing left to do…and I did it. I sought God with all my heart. I asked Him to set me free from these OLD MAN characters.
And I found Him! God brought me back from captivity. The OLD MAN characters of the Orphan Me, Bad Me, Despicable Me, and Victim Me were nailed to the cross. I was set free from the abandonment that shackled me, the condemnation that chained me, the shame that maimed me, and the rejection that bound me. When I sought God with all my heart, He brought me out of myself into His perfect Love, His incomparable Hope, and His free-setting Truth.
‘I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU,’ DECLARES THE LORD, ‘AND WILL BRING YOU BACK FROM CAPTIVITY’
(Jeremiah 29:14).
Are you tired of living a life shackled by abandonment, chained by condemnation, maimed by shame, and bound by rejection? What are you going to do about this?
Seek God with all your heart. Find the Orphan Me, Bad Me, Despicable Me, and Victim Me characters in you and ask God to nail them to the cross. Let Him replace them with His own Character of Love, Hope, and Truth.
PRAYER: Eternal God, I seek You with all my heart. Let me find You, so You can bring me back from captivity—from the beliefs of abandonment, shame, rejection, and condemnation that live in my mind. Reign in me through Your Character of Love, Hope, and Truth.
Maintain an Awareness
The Bible calls it the OLD MAN. It makes us feel like a powerless CHILD. It is the reason we believe we are abandoned, bad, rejected, and shamed. It is the reason we feel mad, bad, and sad. It is the reason neither life, nor death, makes sense.