12.17.24 ~ Identity Crisis

Good morning!

In this week's Torah portion, Vayeshev/and he dwelt, we get introduced to dreams on a deeper level and we find out that those who don't have dreams misunderstand and hate those who do (Gen.37:4,5,11, 19,20).

Is it possible for us to be more than we are? More than work, eat, sleep and play?

Within the story of Joseph the master dreamer, we see a portrait of Jesus/Yeshua in every scenario.

Back in the Gospel of John, Jesus/Yeshua, while speaking to a very diverse group of individuals, prior to Hanukkah (Jn. 10:22), expressed to them the same truth. He said, I Am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12).

Yeshua was testifying who He is and what He does. He knew who He was. At least 18 times, He tells us Who He is. He knows that He is the door, the bread of life, the way, the truth and the life, etc. Knowing who He was allowed Him to live that destiny unimpeded.

If we are unsure of our identity, it will be impossible to dream of the possibilities, and we will feel like we have to become what everyone around us wants us to be. We are ‘ripe for the pickin’ when it comes to being manipulated. People will try to make you what they think you should be rather than what the Creator of Life has made you to be!

Identity is the perfect counterbalance to external pressures. The facts are that God has created us and He doesn’t make junk!

The challenge that we all face is realizing who we are. Oftentimes we see ourselves one-way, yet God sees us another.

There’s a beautiful story in the Song of Solomon where the Shulamite woman sees herself as ugly, ugly, ugly, like the tents of Ishmael that have been windblown, torn and tattered by the desert sand.  Yet, another in her life sees her as beautiful, as the curtains in Solomon’s Temple. She feels that she’s black and nothing more than a ‘slave girl’ to everyone’s wishes, which have prevented her from taking care of her ‘own garden’. Yet this other person in her life sees beyond the exterior and begins to expose and express who she really is (Song of Solomon 1:5-10).

God has placed something deep inside of each one of us…it’s His plan, our destiny! As I’ve heard some say in years past, I don’t want to be the person who dies with the dream still locked up inside of me. I'd rather burn out than rust out. I agree.

More times than not it takes someone of understanding, tavun, to draw out of us who we really are (Prov. 20:5). Most men will proclaim their own goodness, faithful men are hard to find (Prov. 20:6). The faithful man is the one less concerned about himself and how he was built (became a man of understanding), and now is devoted to drawing the identity out of others.

This is one of the most amazing things about our Messiah. He was always surprising those around Him. He is the King, yet He didn’t come to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). In John 13 we find Yeshua doing something the disciples wouldn’t think to do at a moment like this…humble themselves and wash one another’s feet. The security that He had in who He was, allowed Him to do the things that most wouldn’t even consider.

Whether in business, the church world, or the philanthropic, those who know their identity, have esteem in Who they’ve been built by and have no problem in humbling themselves to serve others and bring out the best in them.

Until we overcome our personal identity crisis, we won’t bow to serve and we won’t be focused on drawing out the best in those around us.

Yeshua said it best: The greatest among you demonstrates that by being the servant to all (Luke 22:26).

When we were conceived in our mother’s womb, we were given all the genetic material that has made us who we are today. The latent potential of that gene expression is reality in our adult stage of life.

Spiritually, when we came to Messiah, became a new creation, we were given a spiritual DNA, that over time is supposed to manifest itself visibly for others to see.

Life is hard. Victory isn’t always experienced in the daily battle, but victory is guaranteed to those who live who they are!

If we really believed the DNA template of our lives that we had already been given the victory, we’d live with such great confidence (1 Cor. 15:57,58). Unfortunately, we live in a society that has conditioned us to lose…emotionally, spiritually, financially, and physically, even though we’ve been born from above to win.

As we head into the third day of this work week, may we take our eyes off of ourselves. Recognize what God has built in us and help others to realize the incredible beauty that is deep within the God-given plan of their lives...Be the greatest! Live your identity and serve others to show them how amazing they are in His eyes!

His dream for us is our reality!
Shalom

Commercial: Last night's zoom call: When Anger is Misplaced: people suffer unnecessarily. Why did Jacob send Joseph to check on the brothers?

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