Fresh Bread
      # 21

“VALIDATION”
STAMP OF APPROVAL

      This is the word the Lord gave me this morning. I don’t like to spend too much time on self inspection…or absorption, but when the Lord says, “The TRUTH will set you free”, we begin to wonder if we have believed some lies in our past. If we have, they may be keeping us from being as free as we know God wants us to be today.
      Jesus wants His Bride TOTALLY FREE. So, if this is another area of freedom for her, let’s go for it. He is preparing His Bride for His return…and you are a part of that Bride.
      Forgive me for using my own experience as an example. I hope it triggers one of your own. The Holy Spirit will begin to reveal lies you have believed if you will ask Him. You’ll know it’s Him because it will be something you had not thought of on your own.
      The Lord showed me that I had received hardly any validation of my worth while I was growing up and even into adulthood. The main thing that was never validated was my opinion or desires.
      My mother said I should be a teacher. I didn’t want to be a teacher, but she never listened to me. My husband said I had to work even when financially it was no longer necessary. I wanted to stay home as a mother and wife. He did not listen to my opinion or desire.
      In a sense they were saying, “You’re wrong to want those things. They aren’t important. You don’t know what you are talking about.” They de-valued or de-validated my desires instead of validating them.
      These were two very powerful people in my life and one lie I began to believe was that I was “powerless” to run my own life. Nor was I capable of making wise decisions for myself. If I did, I thought I would be in rebellion…and I didn’t want to do that. In the long run, the biggest lie seemed to be that my opinion had absolutely no value. Therefore I had no value.
      These people didn’t know what they were doing to me; neither did I. But the devil did. He was planting lies all along the way.
      God is greater than Satan though, and the Holy Spirit will tell us the TRUTH when we ask. And His TRUTH will set us FREE.
      Each of us have great value to God. His Word validates His Love for us and how He has a special plan for each of our lives. His Holy Spirit validates (confirms) what we are hearing in our spirit as we pray and read His Word.
      This validation will become so strong, that at some point we will not need validation from others.
      However, “validation” is a great expression of love. And God uses His children to validate each other in Him.
      God always brings something good out of what the devil means for evil. If you never realized that you didn’t receive validation when you were growing up, you may have noticed that you filled your own gap by validating many other people. When you encouraged your children, a friend, co-worker or student by telling them they were doing a good job (when they were), you were validating their worth and value. This made them a stronger person.
      The devil didn’t win after all. Out of your own need, you blessed many others. Remember the TRUTH today…You have Great Value with God.
      To Him, you are FULL of VALUE.
            His Word and Spirit VALIDATE this Truth!
                  You definitely have His STAMP OF APPROVAL!!!