let it go
“I am such an extrovert.”
“I’m so shy and socially awkward, it’s horrible!”
“I guess I’m just naturally really confident.”
“I have so many friends, probably because I am a major people person!”
Have you ever heard someone say something like this? Ever seen someone ever identify with a label or trait? I’m sure you have. At some time in our life, I believe that we all have!
As humans, we love, and I mean love, to be identified uniquely as a writer, athlete, singer, photographer, dancer, whatever it is you do. Often, it goes even deeper and we find it comfortable to place our identity in a personality quirk or trait. At an even deeper level, some of us subconsciously allow ourselves to be labeled with physical condition and simply accept it for what it is. I know, it sounds crazy, but I’ve fallen into this trap too and know it to be true.
The root cause is a deep, yearning desire to be loved and accepted. We want to be somebody. But if we don’t have a label, how are we even remotely a somebody? How and where can we now be identified?
Enter, our labels.
Our labels are the identities we put on so we feel like we are a part of something, a community. All humans want to feel together and belong and the easiest way to do that is simply smack a label on our forehead and blend right in. We love the feeling of relating to other people about our hobbies, personalities, whatever it may be.
Think about it! How many times have you ever discovered yourself finding pride and acceptance in your schoolwork or job? Hair or makeup? Physique or features? Talents or gifts? This is not something to be ashamed of because, hey, we’ve all done it! However, we can’t start there.
I’m going to ask you to do something wild, even scary! It’s going to be so awesome and freeing though, trust me.
Imagine yourself utterly stripped of everything you know or do or are. You are alone. No name, no GPA, no friends, no talents, no money, no family, no job, no personality, nothing. Absolutely nothing, EXCEPT for one thing.
The one and only label you are allowed to keep is Child of the Living God.
How does that feel?
Interesting, funny, and not altogether comfortable, huh? Maybe even painful.
But guys: this is how we need to look at ourselves every single day. WE are the Children of God! And if that is the only thing that we ever know, then so be it!! That’s all we ever need!
God didn’t create me to be a writer or blogger. He created me to be His Child. Being a writer is merely a temporary label I ADOPT in my time here on earth to fulfill part of my purpose. Its not WHO I am, but WHAT I am. The gifts we have, the things we struggle with, those can NOT define us. We HAVE to start with the basic facts:
I am a Child of God. Period.
That’s it.
That’s the ONLY true, important fact and “label” we have to grasp and keep ahold of. If everything else fails, that’s okay. If we get an “F” on an exam, that’s okay. If we struggle to connect and make conversation with people, that’s okay. If we fail to meet a goal, THAT’S OKAY. Because those things don’t define you! Only your identity in God does.
This is such a freeing concept! If the ONLY thing you have to know and hold close to your heart is that you’re a son or daughter of God, nothing else will matter nearly as much. We have to become comfortable with letting go of everything on this earth that defines us and turn to the ONE and ONLY thing that counts.
I’ll be the first to admit that in the beginning, this was hard. I was sure it was going to be easy because I thought I already had a good handle on my identity and who I was. Little did I know that I had some more things to learn, as we all do. I had some stuff shaken up in my heart for sure! I’ll give you an example to make it more personal.
I love being known as an influencer. Everywhere I go, people always tell me how friendly and outgoing I am, how I’m doing such a good job of using social media to influence others in a positive way, etc. I’m not saying this to brag because, trust me, there are a whole lot of other things I’m really NOT as gifted at!! But being an influencer is something I’ve always loved and am really passionate about. However, it’s not nearly as important as my identity in God.
It really hit me how much I found my worth and pride in this label when I was in the middle of reading a really incredible book one day. I had just read the part where the main character is asked by Justin, the fictitious version of Jesus in the book, to let go of the label of “blindness” that she had been identified with on earth. Justin asked her instead to focus on His Truth about her and how He saw her. As a result, she was completely healed from her blindness not once, but TWICE!!
When I read that, I suddenly felt the Holy Spirit tell me to do the same thing: let go of my earthly labels to discover who I truly was in His Kingdom. I sat in silence for a moment and thought about all the labels I related to on this earth like writer, singer, sister, leader, and also personality traits like confidence, friendliness, passion, maturity, and strength (both physical and emotional). I thought about even the physical things like having beautiful curly hair and chocolate brown eyes.
As these labels flooded my mind, I slowly began to release them, imagining God crushing each one then turning to me and replacing those identities with names like His Daughter, His Treasure, His Princess, and everything He calls and sees me as. I was doing fine and felt confident and at peace UNTIL I came to ones like influencer, speaker, writer, leader, and fighter for truth. Those are things I’ve really felt called to walk in, which is amazing and definitely important, however I never realized until just then how MUCH importance I placed in those things. Unfortunately, more worth than being God’s daughter, I can tell you that.
I just couldn’t bring myself to imagine my life without those titles. I LIKED being a writer. I LIKED being a leader. I LIKED being an influencer. And there was nothing wrong with that, as long as they didn’t take the place of God.
But they were.
I struggled for a long time with these thoughts. I tried to imagine myself sitting in front of God and Him calling me loved and that literally being enough. It was hard. It was really, really hard. Every time I thought I was getting somewhere, I’d imagine my blog, YouTube channel, and platform I've built with others and I just lost it. I knew my heart was in the right place by wanting to help people, but it was difficult to grasp the thought that even if I didn’t win an award or gratitude here on earth for changing one more person’s life or accomplishing some enormous goal, I was still God’s daughter and He loved me the same. I was justifying the hold I held on my label as my way of pleasing God and making Him happy with me. Crazy, right?1
Let me pause here and address something. I don’t ever want anyone to use the love of God as an excuse NOT to walk in your purpose. Yes, He loves you the same whether you’re a criminal or missionary, but you can’t live a mediocre life, knowing God will still love you even if you don’t tell others about Jesus. That’s not how it works. However, we also can’t place too much emphasis on our passions either. My love for writing, speaking, and fighting for others’ lives is God-given and completely right and just. That is something I should be walking in every day of my life. BUT I can’t ever let that be my ultimate identity. I can’t find myself in that. I have to know myself in God, THEN see myself showing and sharing His love through my personal mission. Without God, my identity is in the purpose, NOT the purpose-giver.
I don’t claim to have it all together now. I am still working through some issues, some labels that I’m learning to release and let go. But that’s okay. We’re always supposed to be moving forward and changing. We were never designed to stay in one place. I’m still on my journey of discovering my limiting labels and replacing them with truth. It’s part of the road called life!
This is something we all need to do. We all have to take a deep look inside our hearts. We have to start connecting and talking with the Holy Spirit about what we’re feeling. We have to learn to identify our emotions and labels, work through them, and then release them. I’ve found that to find true freedom, I had to let go of every label and lie holding me to this world. I am not a part of this world. I belong to the Kingdom of God, a completely separate government and dominion! He tells me who I am, not the movie I’m watching or naysayer in the corner. When we break all ties to this world and instead merely exist in it, there is no longer the pressure to perform or be somebody. We have the freedom and knowledge that God loves and accepts us however and whoever we are. We pursue His plan and purpose for our life because we love Him and want others to know His love too! Following God is not done out of guilt or fear or performance, but out of love!
When we release and crush our earthly labels, we are allowing God to work even more in our hearts. We now have space to breathe and allow Him to speak into our lives. He adores us. He loves to remind us who we are because somehow, we have forgotten that very important fact in our life. Let me now take a moment to remind you of what He says about you:
You are enough
You are love
You are beautiful
You are perfect, complete, and whole in His eyes
You are a bearer of truth and light
You are the wielder of His power such as this world has never known
Those labels, my friends, are the ONLY ones you need to be focused on. Because honestly, in the grand scheme of things, they are the only words that matter. They are the concrete, solid truth in a world tempted and deceived by the enemy. These are words you can count on 100% to ALWAYS be true. What a sweet, blessed relief!
I encourage you to not only begin identifying and releasing your labels, whatever they might be but also reading God’s Word and listening to His voice to replace those earthly labels with His truth. I guarantee that you will feel such freedom and joy as you have never felt before. It is so worth the pain and depth you must reach to work through those limiting words that have been hanging over your head.
He loves you, friends. He wants you to know you are loved beyond imagination. He wants you to feel that love. But first, we need to clear our minds and hearts to receive that love. Don’t worry, your friend and Father isn’t going anywhere. He is always there ready to love on you, but only when you’re ready.