Unapologetically who I am in CHRIST JESUS

 

Search Me, O GOD, and Know My Heart. O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me,and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O GOD!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
Oh that you would slay the wicked, O GOD! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
Search me, O GOD, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!And see if there be any grievous way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting!—Psalm 139, A Psalm of David

What beautiful words these are from Psalm 139! Who can truly know us like the LORD? I say with complete confidence of it being truth that absolutely no one can, not even we know ourselves our very own heart, at least not in that kind of depth, but only GOD! I haven’t written on my blog in while. I’ve been pretty much content with just “being” from taking the free time I have to press in with the LORD. Time spent with GOD never ever disappoints. Today’s writing is inspired from something that I was able to do with the team I’m part of at the company I work for.
We recently got to do a Gallop survey on ourselves. It was about a 45 minute long survey, that consisted of answering a series of questions, and based on the answers given, at the end of it, when we got our results back, it told a lot about ourselves. It even told me to write, and that was the best way to share my thoughts.
The object of this survey was to allow us to find out what each of our strengths were within, and to make that our focus for how we see ourselves and others, because we can all agree that It’s easy to focus on one’s weakness. We all have them too, and many times we can be harder on ourselves and others too because of our weaknesses.
The Gallop strength survey was just so very neat! It was very impressive to me say the least, as was the entire experience, and it was amazingly accurate for all of us! In fact everyone agreed that the results of their strengths were right on!
We were blessed to be able to have the instructor even go over our results individually,  by setting up one on one meetings with us, and then even in a group setting revealing the group results of our team. We found out we have a really strong team! I was very impressed with the work and time that she put into all of that. We have a large group, and she just really poured so much of her own time into each of us to give of us our own time with her that allowed us to go over those results individually. It gave us better clarity and understanding for where and how the results came to be, even why and how we tend to think like we do. My top 5 strengths were: beliefs, deliberative, responsibility, input, and strategic. The instructor let the group know that the beliefs were not necessarily regarding faith though, but it’s more along the lines of what our core values are. I agreed to only a certain degree of that,  because my beliefs were the very highest that I scored in, and I base everything now on my faith.
I have to admit that my beliefs were my absolute favorite, and I was not surprised at all by the results either, just more shocked that it was completely accurate!
My beliefs even scored the very highest out of the smaller group of those who had beliefs being in their top 5. That kinda made me stand out like a sore thumb too.

We were asked what we each like, and how we could see how it may effect us and others.
Admittedly, my beliefs sometimes can drive me crazy, especially in how I can be perceived from others. Many times I can be taken wrongly, and admittedly so sometimes in how I try to convey my thoughts is not always well delivered either. But I truly believe just like the Psalmist wrote, that we are ALL fearfully and wonderfully made. GOD made each of us to be so very complex, and in that Gallop strength survey taken, WE FOUND THAT TO BE THE TRUTH, because NO ONE person in our group were EXACTLY alike! That made me think of Psalm 139, and what blew my mind the very most, was the fact that we ALL had the very same questions, but ended up with totally different results. It’s truly amazing! I could see the hand of GOD’S work in each of us, as in the survey, and in the group discussion. It was SO VERY AMAZING!!!!!

GOD is who put those strong beliefs within me, and as uncomfortable as it was to “stand out like a sore thumb, for that, I WILL NEVER EVER be sorry for it! This survey was also allowing us to take ownership of who we truly are, but not in a boastful way, but instead it allowed us to own it gracefully, and not feel like we should have to apologize for it. It also did something that was pretty cool too, it allowed us to be vulnerable, which that was awesome to me, because that’s right where I am and something that I myself have been praying to be more of, so GOD was all up in the entire experience!!!

I have to share that while others may not have liked beliefs as much for being their “top” favorite, but it is my most favorite, because it’s not only who I am and who GOD HIMSELF made me to be, but my beliefs keep me grounded! They keep me being who GOD created me to be, instead of who the world says that I should be!
I believe that our country could stand a dose of that reality, because the United States as a whole, have allowed the world to change their beliefs to accommodate political correctness! To me that’s so very sad. It’s like this, when you have a beautiful brilliant rock that keeps just being chiseled away, well It may have started out as this beautiful rock in the beginning, but every time a piece was taken away, the rock’s beauty just went with it. It’s the very same analogy with looking at how things have become, within the United States, as well as the entire world in general. A country without GOD will not stand. A world without GOD won’t make it, so instead of “changing with the times” just because the world portrays that you should do just that, DOES NOT mean that it should be DONE though. In other words, it’s okay NOT TO CHANGE, especially in certain beliefs, where my faith is concerned! Because my beliefs will not EVER be compromised, no matter how politically correct we as a nation become, because at the end of it all, I answer to one and only one. I am not trying to win a popularity contest, as even that survey revealed that about me, that I have always known, but that was only realized truly when I found my real identity in CHRIST!  I am striving to hear well done, my good and FAITHFUL servant, and we all should know that there’s enough things within the world going on that hurt GOD deeply, “changing with the times” IS NOT EVER AN OPTION!!!!!

But without Faith it is impossible to please HIM: for he that cometh to GOD must believe that HE IS, and that HE is a rewarder of them that diligently seek HIM.—Hebrews 11:6

Everyone living will have to face GOD one day, believers and unbelievers alike, and it’s coming sooner than any of us really truly think it is. The Bible says that the FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM—Proverbs 9:10.
The fear of the LORD displays genuine Faith, because without Faith, it is impossible to please GOD. Without faith, one could not stay true to his/her own beliefs, especially what they’ve always been taught about the LORD. If you really have Faith, then your beliefs in it and in HIM will never be compromised, and that’s what I believe because I am unapologetically who I am in CHRIST JESUS.

❤️ Shellie Maheu