Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 30
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life
Ministries International
Littleton, Colorado
Notice: this email is part of a BLOG, called Getting Out of the
Wilderness. Why a blog? So that many can receive the weekly thoughts
I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.
When
I first heard Michael make the statement that defines this section of his book,
I had several fleeting thoughts…none of which were positive toward what he had
to say. And then God spoke to my heart
and began to show me the truth of this “identity” thing. Pretty interesting…to say the least!
OUR
CONTROLLING IDENTITY
excerpt
from pages 84-87 of SIW (5th printing,
March 1998)
excerpt
from pages 81-84 of SIW (14th printing,
March 2012)
(used with permission from
ALMI):
…write
a description of yourself at your very worst moment. Remember, what you are at your worst moment
is your true condition! When nothing has
gone right (Michael gives 6 common occurrences), how would describe
yourself? (Michael gives 15
ways some people respond to times “when nothing has gone right)…
Because
we are all the things that we described at our worst moment, it becomes evident
that no one will accept or love us. This
realization creates considerable discomfort, since acceptance and love are our
deepest needs…
(Michael gives an illustration of how we run to an
imaginary sewing machine to make a “success suit” that looks like the
impression we hope to make on others, then describes us as a rabbit that tries
to “hop” around for however many minutes we can)…When you are living in your success
suit, you are merely hopping…the world has the benefit of knowing you in your
success suit while you hop, but your family reaps the consequences of knowing
the real you.
…One
proof that what we are at our worst moments is our true condition is that we
have tried to cover it up with the success suit. Another proof is that people can control us
through this identity…
…How
a person responds to negative evaluation is a sure test of who he believes he
is. If when told he is a failure someone
reacts in anger, it is because he believes that he is a failure. People in the business of covering up their
true identities hang on every word and event, and manifest great hostility when
anything confirms their fear of who they really are.
I
guess one of the reasons I had the initial negative thoughts concerning the
idea of “what I am at my worst is really what I am” was because I had two
things that molded my early years (which have greatly impacted my later years):
·
I
had a wonderful childhood. Great
memories of years and years of a terrific life from birth to the teen
years. Great grandparents, great
parents, a younger sister that was a little bit of a pain early on…but great
years.
·
Great
results in life’s activities…such that I had a card above my bedroom door that
I glanced at time and again as I left to go enjoy life that read: “When you are
as great as I am, it is difficult to be humble!”
I
just never thought of my “bad” as being anything other than the result of
someone else being the problem.
But,
Michael opened the door to see many things in my life, and other’s. And that “success suit” thing was a major
breakthrough. One big reason is because
I knew Ephesians 1:6 told me I am “accepted in the beloved.” Wow! “Accepted in the beloved”! Tell me how any acceptance by some other
person than God can compare with that?!?
And I had already learned just how much God loved me…together they give
me the love AND acceptance of God. That
was 30 years ago. It just took 15 years
before I discovered what I had learned 15 years before had any connection with
the “success suit” I had been wearing prior.
The last 15 years have been an uncomplicated life and easy life as a
Christian…more than I ever imagined experiencing!
Keep
reading Michael’s book…you will find the love and acceptance of God!
Note: if you don’t have one of
Michael’s Sidetracked In The Wilderness books, please contact ALMI (www.abidinglife.com) and get one today!
To access ALL past weekly
blogs, go to Getting
Out of the Wilderness by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com
Lee McDowell Christian Ministries
leemccm@gmail.com
1737 CR
2051 Nacogdoches, Tx 75965 936-559-5696
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