Beautiful Identity

Chapter 1

Connecting with Your Source

Anything firmly connected to its source can grow and thrive. A seed in fertile ground will flourish, while a seed sitting on concrete will not. A light bulb connected firmly to a source of power will light up, while a light bulb loose in its base will not.

In the same way, a woman can flourish and light up her world when she is connected firmly to her source, God. When a woman joins and aligns with the Spirit of God, a power flows from the origin of her life to her being. This power can activate the love for her life, stir her gifts and passions, and make her productive.

I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. (John 15:5 AMP)

When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we enter the kingdom of God, but not understanding what it is like to be in the realm of God can cause us to live limited lives. For example, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior when I was eight. Though I have loved God all my life, I didn’t know all the privileges and the boundaries of a child of God, such as the special endowment of God’s gifts that He gave me so my life and my world could be better. 1 Corinthians 12:1, 1 Timothy 4a and 14, and 2 Timothy 1:6 talk about these individual endowments. The Holy Spirit gives us these gifts, and they need to be stirred, inflamed, and used to light all sectors of the global government.

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. (Matthew 5:14 NLT)

Imagine your life as a light that influences others positively with a specific authority in certain areas. Imagine growing from the ground up just like a seed that becomes a tree. I believe this is how we become the light and the salt, how we become solutions for the world.

Just as the light bulb that is firmly connected to a source of power illuminates its surroundings, so do you when you have a firm connection with your maker through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will allow you to illuminate your world with a brilliant light and make you progressively more productive and fruitful. The stronger your connection to your source, the greater your influence will be. How are you influencing your world?

Lesson 1 of Connecting with Your Source

Who Is Defining You?

Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations— that’s what I had in mind for you. (Jeremiah 1:5 MSG)

Every visible thing came from the invisible. According to Jeremiah 1:5, before you and I were shaped in our mothers’ wombs, we were in God’s mind.

God has a specific plan for how you can contribute to the world under His leadership. Just as an inventor defines the purpose for a product before its creation, your maker had a specific purpose in mind for you before you were born. The process of creating you and bringing you to a certain family or nationality are all part of God’s grand master plan, and it is important for you to understand how valuable you are and how you came to be.

A manufacturer tests its product to make sure every part of it has been built correctly to face challenges and deliver expected results before introducing it to the market; that is when the manufacturer announces the purpose it had in mind for a product and makes sure the product attracts the right customers and meets their needs.

The purpose of your life will determine and attract the beneficiary of your work. —Dr. Myles Munroe

Just as a manufacturer builds products to accomplish specific tasks, God has created us for a purpose. He designed each woman to function in a certain way and in a specific place according to His purpose. Our natural makeup is part of that purpose, so we need to accept ourselves the way our maker has made us. Are you embracing the way you were created? Who can define you best, a creation or its creator?

I have an iPhone 8, and I enjoy it for many reasons and somewhat define it based on my experiences with it. The Apple Company, however, can explain the reason for each feature of the phone and how I can use it. We learn the true identity of a product by connecting to its ultimate source. In the same manner, we can discover who we are by connecting to our maker, the source of our lives.

Unfortunately, many women define themselves as I would describe my smartphone. Some look at their experiences or what others say about them and have determined who they are and what they can be, do, and have. Others believe they have become all they can become and have accepted the titles others have given them. Some believe they are who they are based on their possessions or associations.

I believe a vague understanding of who they are in God’s kingdom has caused many women to lead their lives in vague terms. The voices of unauthorized agents can lead women to be misused, unused, or abused.

Do you feel misused, unused, or abused? If so, be encouraged and focus on the restoration process. In the next few lessons, you will see something new and profound that can transform your life. Stay with me. Your success is in the details.

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For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:13–14 NIV)