This process of losing my own orphan spirit is ongoing and compiling this list (though not exhaustive) has opened my eyes to more "boxes" that need to be removed. My desire for each woman that reads this, is that she will be challenged to walk royally - as a daughter of Christ, free from the spirit of who she once was.
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But when the time arrived that was set
by God the Father, God sent His Son,
born among us of a woman,
born under the conditions of the law
so that He might redeem those of us
who have been kidnapped by the law.
Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful
heritage.
You can tell for sure that you are now
fully adopted
as His own children
because God sent the Spirit of His Son
into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!”
Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation
with God make it plain that
you are not a slave, but a child?
And if you are a child, you’re also an heir,
with complete access to the inheritance.
Galatians 4:4-7
I had a vision some time ago of an orphan girl sitting in the foyer of a
grand home. A pile of boxes that she
kept arranging and rearranging around her little body surrounded her. I couldn’t see what was in them, but I knew
that they contained all her worldly goods.
The living room was just off the foyer and the warmth and glow of the
fireplace made the room so welcoming and inviting and there, sitting in a big,
comfy, leather recliner, was God. He
watched the little girl in the foyer and called out to her to join Him.
“Come rest with me? Let me hold
you?”
The girl wanted to go, but was unwilling to leave her possessions. She feared what might happen to them and had
a burning need to stay close, always protecting the pathetic little pile of
stuff.
God wanted to take her throughout the home. He wanted to show her the bedroom He had
decorated just for her. She went, peeked
inside, but couldn’t fully enjoy the moment as she kept slipping back to check
on the boxes in the foyer.
Later, He took her to the kitchen where He opened the pantry. “You will never need to go hungry again. All I have is yours, so help yourself to My
abundance.”
Again, the little girl seemed grateful, but was overwhelmed by it all
and uncertain how to fit her little orphan life into something so grand… too
grand for someone like her.
I lost sight of the orphan girl because I could hear a voice coming from
outside. It was Satan. He was ugly and toothless. Unable to bring harm in anyway, except
through His words. A great security
rested over the House of God though since in the doorway stood Jesus – arms
outstretched, keeping the enemy from having access in the home.
In the western church we have an extraordinary amount of blessings, yet
so many live in a spiritual orphanage.
Let’s look at what an orphan heart looks like so we can see where we may
still be living under that spirit.
Spirit of an orphan:
The orphan spirit never feels as though they truly belong. Though given love, possessions, home, etc.. It’s
never enough. She needs constant
reassurance that she is wanted. She will serve feverishly in her attempt to
gain the admiration of others and, she hopes, God Almighty.
The daughter of Christ serves out of love and compassion, at peace
knowing that God loves her in spite of her works. She recognizes that there is nothing she can
do, no task she can accomplish that will cause God to love her more – or
less. He just loves her. Just as she is. And it’s that knowledge that compels her to
serve her Abba Father.
The orphan spirit is jealous each time another is given special
treatment or attention. She operates out
of insecurity and jealousy and she struggles to rejoice with the good fortune
of another. She will fail to understand
that the promotion of another or the blessings in another’s life is not a sign
of God loving that person more and loving her less. God delights in giving good gifts. He does promote people from time to
time. He does grant special blessings in
ones life from time to time. IF it’s not
your life that it’s happening to, it’s not because He doesn’t love you.
A daughter of Christ will celebrate when her sister or brother is given
good things because she knows that her Abba Daddy hasn’t forgotten her. She waits patiently because knows that He is
a multi-bazillionaire and has endless resources to give to His children. She is
content to worship in whatever situation she’s in… delighting in Jesus whether
promoted and praised… or simply serving in solitude.
The orphan spirit is prone to hoarding.
It could be food; it could be money, or clothes… or even time. She uses the material things of this world to
build up walls around her so she feels most safe and secure. She is self-reliant – never trusting that her
Abba Daddy wants to provide these
things for her, as she needs them.
The daughter of Christ is open handed.
She cherishes the gift God gives her, yet she uses them because she knows He gave them to be used for her own pleasure as well as to bring joy to His heart when
He sees her utilizing the good things He’s given her.
The orphan spirit is self-centered.
She repels those who are considered to be “the least of these” – which
includes children. She prefers only the
company of those who admire her and can promote her in some way. She delights in discovering the failures of
others and is quick to point out those faults to anyone who will listen. At the same time, she is unwilling to accept
responsibility for her own actions.
Saying she’s sorry is difficult.
A daughter of Christ has discovered that focusing on God compels you to
love others without reservation. She
recognizes that loving on others is in essence, loving on God. She takes pleasure in the flowering of truth
and always looks for the best in another.
She admits when she’s been wrong and grants others the privilege of
offering forgiveness.
The orphan spirit doesn’t know who her daddy is. Having been accustomed to so many caregivers,
she is easily pulled in by anything or anyone that will offer comfort in the
moment. There is an empty place in her heart that can
only be filled by a father’s love. Without it, the orphan spirit fills the
yawning hole with whatever feels good in the moment. It can be food, drugs, shoes, sex, money… the
list goes on.
The daughter of Christ, though tempted by the good things in life, knows
where ultimate peace and love is found.
She runs to her Abba Daddy knowing He alone can fill the empty places of
her heart.
The orphan spirit is prone to anger and fits of rage based mostly on the
fact that they do not trust – since she was once abandoned and unloved, she
believes in her heart that it can happen again.
She must manipulate situations in an effort to control her environment.
The daughter of Christ rests secure because she knows that her Abba
Daddy has her life - and her future, in His hands.
The orphan spirit struggles to trust that she is loved… or lovable. She fails to see anything of value within her
and she shows it by how she allows others to treat her.
The daughter of Christ is confident that she is loved – it is not an
arrogance or pride.. it is simply confidence that she has been brought into the
Kingdom. She is no longer an orphan but
is in fact a child of the King. She
recognizes that she has access to all that her Abba Daddy possesses because He
says in Matthew 6:
25 “So
my counsel is: Don’t worry about things—food, drink, and clothes. For
you already have life and a body—and they are far more important than what to
eat and wear.
26 Look
at the birds! They don’t worry about what to eat—they don’t need to sow or reap
or store up food—for your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more
valuable to Him than they are.
27 Will
all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And
why worry about your clothes? Look at the field lilies! They don’t worry about
theirs.
29 Yet
King Solomon in all His glory was not clothed as beautifully as they.
30 And
if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow,
won’t he more surely care for you, O men of little faith?
31-32 So
don’t worry at all about having enough food and clothing. Why be like the
heathen? For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about
them. But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them,
33 and
He will give them to you if you give Him first place in your life and live as
He wants you to.
34 So
don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live
one day at a time.
Romans 8 speaks to the heart of the orphan spirit as well:
“Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on
God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more
about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what He is doing. And
God isn’t pleased at being ignored.
But if God Himself has taken up residence in your
life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of Him.
Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this
invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re
talking about. But for you who welcome Him, in whom He dwells—even though you
still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on
God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God
who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, He’ll do the same thing in
you that He did in Jesus, bringing you alive to Himself?
When God lives and breathes in you (and He does, as
surely as He did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With His
Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!
So
don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent.
There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a
decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are
things to do and places to go!
This resurrection life you received from God is not a
timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a
childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms
who we really are. We know who He is, and we know who we are: Father and children.
And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable
inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through
the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good
times with him!
That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison
between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world
itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being
more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the
creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious
times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.
I believe it is God’s desire to release us from the orphan spirit. So my challenge today is to take some time
and listen to what His Spirit is saying to you.
What are in your boxes yet? What do
you need to relinquish to Him in order to fully settle in to fearless, amazing,
abundant Kingdom living?
©Lynette Carpenter 2013
1 comment:
This is great! Wish I could have been there to hear the stories. :)
It is so easy to miss the source of these insecurities in ourselves. Lies that were planted in us from the beginning of time. Thanks for sharing!
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