Not Being the Victim Any More - Fierce & Fearless

It is amazing how you can live with yourself for more than 25 years and still not really know yourself. Yesterday I experienced a revelation, something that has not happened in quite some time. For months I have been wondering what are my set-in-stone beliefs as a person--what parts of my life are completely black and white and which parts are gray? I have realized I have not made my mind up on a lot of things in life, not because I am indecisive, but because I have the tendency to weigh the good and the bad of each situation, topic, and issue to the point where I feel as though I cannot arrive at an absolute conclusion.

It wasn't until last night, after months of searching for what my absolutes in life are, that I finally was able to formulate a few things:
1. God is real.
2. God is alive.
3. God is reasonable.
4. God seeks our best interest.
5. Evil is real.
6. Fear deters you from greatness.

7. We combat fear by living with a universal faith that despite the fact that we can do everything right in this life, there is always the realm of possibilities where things can still go incredibly sour. We have the faith that despite that realm of possibilities that there is still hope in this life and that we can still triumph despite the deterrents.

8. We combat fear by living with a supernatural faith in God that despite the fact that we can do everything right in this life, things can still end up terribly wrong and that no matter what happens--even if all hell breaks loose and the worst falls upon us, at the end of the day Jesus is still Lord, God still has our back, and God has the power to turn our situation around and open doors that are closed and to make a way out of no way.

What I realized from these truths is that the presence or absence of embracing these truths into our lives causes two realities:
1. We spend our lives blaming ourselves, others, or God for everything negative in our lives--so we become living victims throughout life.
2. We spend our lives getting past the negatives and living our lives as though we never were victims.

Up until yesterday I was number one, like the vast majority of society. I was living as a victim. I blamed myself and God for anything, for everything. I have had a very hard time forgiving myself although I have been a lot better at forgiving others. But my victim lifestyle was in total conflict with my truth--that I believe that no matter what happens I believe that God can and will turn it around. How can two walk together unless they agree? I was not in agreement with myself.

So if I am no longer a victim, I have to replace fear with faith. If I live my life without blame and I live my life without fear I become virtually unstoppable since fear doesn't stop me and unforgiveness does not block me. Moving from being a victim to living as though I was never a victim is very empowering. You develop the "So What?" mentality. What if I lose my job?--So what? Jesus is still Lord. God can turn it around. While many may think this is an extreme approach--what else do they really have to offer in its place, and what do you have to lose adopting this mentality--nothing. You lose nothing and have everything to gain because now you have just empowered yourself over fear. I am a living witness of this--this is why I even have this blog in the first place. When my company shut down their San Diego location and I was laid off temporarily before deciding to relocate to Philly, my Bishop rejoiced at the lost of my job. At the time I thought she was out of her mind, but what I realize now is that she was excercising the "So What" mentality and had a supernatural faith that everything was going to be okay. When we eliminate the element of fear in our lives there is no limit to what we can do--we can live fearless and fiece.

I am by no means saying to forget all those things that have happened to you, especially those things that have shaped your life for better or worse but I am saying embrace the good that became of it, testify to others where you have been, but don't live and dwell there--move on. Admit your inadequacies to yourself and to others. Yesterday I admitted to being emotionally handicap--it took a lot for me to admit that, but once I put it out there, it only meant that the problem was brought the the light and that I could now tackle the problem without fearing that it existed in the first place.

Grow. Be healed and live to life to the point where anyone looking at you would swear your whole life was sweet. This is a lot different from disguising your pain. Most people pretend they haven't been victimized and hurt by life. We have to admit we are victims before we can live life as though we aren't.

Who knew liberty could be found in a long awaited revelation?