IDENTITY CRISIS? - Do You Know Who You Really Are?

“A picture can paint a thousand words!” 

For many of us, there is always more going on than what meets the eye.  The old saying, "You can't judge a book by it's cover" is true!  Have you ever found yourself in a full-fledged identity crisis?  Or been in a situation or circumstance that made you question who you really are?  Is being true to yourself an on-going struggle? If your answer to any of these questions is "yes", I pray that you are challenged to look a little deeper.  

Now, what you have before you, Children of God, is a picture of a duck.  Nothing special; a duck is a duck right?  I mean if it looks like a duck, it must be a duck right?  Or is it...?
People often appear to be one way, when in fact, there is a world of both pain and power; struggle and strength; past and present, hope and despair, on the inside.  Past experiences, old wounds and other people’s perceptions and/or expectations dictate which of those you see on a daily basis in the natural course of living.  I want to suggest to you that there is most certainly more to your life than meets the eye!  Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I want to enlist your powers of perception and observation to make my point:  Go ahead; look a little closer.  

What do you see?  Do you see the rabbit in the duck?

Your ability to actually see the rabbit in the duck in the natural, may take a few minutes, but to see it in your life can take very long time – well into adulthood - depending on your past and your capacity for change and new information.  Letting go of old hurts, old ways of thinking and being can be extremely difficult.  If you’ve struggled with insecurity and fear all your life, it can be hard to walk in the understanding and belief “that you are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works that He has before-ordained that you should walk therein.”  If all you've known is a life of instability and constant crisis, it can be hard to move to one of peace and stability.  But there is more to your life than just what you’ve experienced to this point. 

God is doing a new thing! And it shall spring forth!  Do you not perceive it?!  Change is happening.  God is bringing about a divine paradigm shift!  God wants to show you great and mighty things which you know not of.  But you have to be willing to release your old ways of thinking and understanding and allow the new revelation from God to take hold and find full expression in your life.  Fresh revelation from God speaks of your future!  God’s plans for you are good and not evil; He has a future and hope and an expected end for you!   There are more sermons, more songs, more books, more discoveries, more cures, more souls, more, more, more!  In other words, there is a rabbit in your duck!!

Abram, a man well stricken in years, experienced it when he received a promise and a miraculous gift, and his name was changed to Abraham (which means Father of Many Nations) – the rabbit in his duck.

Saul experienced it on the road to Damascus when his name was changed to Paul (he went from being a persecutor of Christianity, to being the premier Apostle to Gentiles – a minister of The Gospel) – the rabbit in his duck. 

Peter was a fisherman.  Jesus said, "Come; follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.”  Later Jesus changes Cephas’ name to Peter (which means, rock) and declares that “upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” - the rabbit in his duck.

Jesus was born the son of a carpenter in Nazareth.  Can anything good come out of Nazareth?  Isn’t He Mary’s son?  Can you imagine?  That's what they said about Him! Well, in the beginning was The Word; and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  We beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  And it pleased God that the fullness of the Godhead should dwell in Him fully in bodily form.  Later Peter boldly declares, “Thou art The Christ, The Son of the Living God!” - the rabbit in His duck! 

Some of us have heard the same and far worse being said to and about us.  It can take years before we are able to overcome these emotional roadblocks and begin to see who we "really" are - our true identity. If you look close enough at the Word of God, He will reveal to you His good, and perfect and acceptable will for your life.  If you spend time in His Presence, you will become conformed to His image and He will show you great and mighty things that you know not of and give you the desires of your heart.  He will reveal Himself to you in a new way and reveal to you your rabbit in your duck!!

Look at the picture again; do you see it yet?

I’ve been looking for the rabbit in the duck:  looking beyond what I see to what is really going on – not on things which are temporal, but to those things which are eternal. 

• It’s not just about the day-to-day issues of my life, but about the divine purposes God wants to accomplish through it. 
• It’s not just about the state of our country – jobs, the economy, the deficit, etc., etc. – but about God’s end-time agenda. 
• It’s not just about my career choices or a retirement strategy, but what is my role in the culmination of all things;

In other words, it’s looking into the interior life - in the Presence of God - and gaining the wisdom and direction necessary to negotiate the exterior life effectively.  The most important step in this process is renewing our minds. (Romans 12:1-2)  I’m in the middle of a spiritual paradigm shift!  My mind is changing; my thought life is changing; revelation is increasing; my sensitivity and awareness of end-time events is increasing.  I recognize the power God has given me to fulfill my assignment, and I'm no longer afraid.  He is with me and no weapon formed against me shall prosper.  He's given me power to trample over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt me!  

As I fully embrace the Apostolic/Prophetic call on my life, I invite you to join me for dynamic ministry, leadership training, worshipful God-encounters, with signs and wonders following!  

My name is Angela – which means “Messenger of God” - the rabbit in my duck!!