WHO YOU ARE vs. WHERE YOU ARE

Let me share a couple of encounters I've had in recent days:

Doctor-
I can't do it anymore. My depression is out of control. I can't do my job. etc etc Help!
Where is he?
Overextended too much stress + not enough resources = depression and thoughts of suicide.
Who is he?
Son of God with a divine nature and destiny.

Doctor-
We just found out our son is dealing drugs. He'll be 18 in a few months. He doesn't have a job, he won't go to church, etc etc Help!
Where are they?
Confused and angry parents not sure what to do and going on trek in two days.
Who are they?
Son and daughter of God with a divine nature and destiny.

Doctor-
God told me I committed blasphemy and that I needed to rip my eyes out.
Where is he?
In a Southern Utah jail. Suffering from psychosis.  Won't take meds. And yea, now he is blind.
Who is he?
Son of God with a divine nature and destiny.

WHERE YOU ARE IS NOT WHO YOU ARE
Often we mistakenly define who we are by where we are in our life at the time. For example:


I watch porn therefore...

I am evil and no good...



I am in debt therefore...

I am a failure...

 

I just got laid off therefore...

I am stupid...
 

I  yell and scream therefore...

I am crazy...

 

Some of our behaviors/habits may have been part of our lives for many years, as a result it becomes easy to believe THAT THE BEHAVIOR IS WHO WE ARE... that we actually really are "no good:, "a failure", "a looser" etc etc.

Identifying yourself with a "I am" followed by a negative label prevents change. It's poison to progress. It means "You can't . . . " suggesting that you neither have nor will ever develop the skills necessary to change the unwanted behavior. It is as if you do not have the capability to change.

THIS IS NOT TRUE.

Only Satan would have you believe you cannot change a behavior or habit.
At times he "whispers" similar thoughts into your ear. See Satan's Finest Tool.

You are better than this.

You are a child of God "... each has a divne nature and destiny...". (The Family: A Proclamation to the World)

Illness, challenges, addictions, trials, tribulations etc etc are where we are in the "Perfection Process", not who we are.

Into every life there come the painful, despairing days of adversity and buffeting. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and often heartbreak for everyone, including those who earnestly seek to do right and be faithful. The thorns that prick, that stick in the flesh, that hurt, often change lives which seem robbed of significance and hope. This change comes about through a refining process which often seems cruel and hard. In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master in building lives of faith, usefulness, beauty, and strength. For some, the refiner’s fire causes a loss of belief and faith in God, but those with eternal perspective understand that such refining is part of the perfection process. (The Refiner's Fire, James E. Faust, Ensign May 1979)

In GOD'S KINGDOM "NOBODY" IS A "NOBODY"

Including you!

I am certain our Heavenly Father is displeased when we refer to ourselves as “nobody.” How fair are we when we classify ourselves a “nobody”? How fair are we to our families? How fair are we to our God? We do ourselves a great injustice when we allow ourselves, through tragedy, misfortune, challenge, discouragement, or whatever the earthly situation, [where we are] to so identify ourselves. No matter how or where we find ourselves, we cannot with any justification label ourselves nobody,” ["stupid," "no good," "evil," "crazy," etc etc]. As children of God we are somebody. He will build us, mold us, and magnify us if we will but hold our heads up, our arms out, and walk with him. What a great blessing to be created in his image and know of our true potential in and through him! What a great blessing to know that in his strength we can do all things! (Marvin J. Ashton, In His Strength, Ensign, July 1973)

There are no ordinary people.
I have never talked to just a "mere" mortal.

It is serious business to live in a world surrounded by potential Gods and Goddesses,
like YOU!

CHALLENGE
Identify one part of your life that suggests you have "a divine nature and destiny."

If you need help read your patriarchal blessing if you don't have one, get one.
 

Identify one part of your life -a trial, a tribulation, a habit - that suggests you still have work to do on your "Progress to Perfection."

If you don't have one this moment, that's fine. One is on the way. :)

dr rick
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