Rebellion, the good kind!
What are you rebelling towards? Wait, we don't rebel towards things, we rebel away from things. A lot of times that's a good start. If we are growing up in an unhealthy household, rebelling away from that isn't bad. If we are stuck in an unhealthy friendship or relationship, rebelling out of it isn’t bad.
Rebellion isn't inherently bad, but choosing a direction based on what we are moving away from, inherently focuses our attention on what is behind us. And that’s where we get in trouble in the midst of positive rebellion. In the same way our feet follow the direction we point our eyes, our hearts and minds follow the direction we focus our thoughts.
When God called his people in Egypt to rebel against Pharaoh, he didn't simply call them to leave Egypt, he called them to journey to the promised land. (Exodus)
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:10-12
In both examples we see above, God is encouraging rebellion, but always with the destination well defined. He calls us to the promised land, he calls us to our future in heaven, there is always a destination.
“For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he” - Proverbs 23:7
When we focus on what we don’t want to do, or don’t want to be, 9 times out of 10 we end up doing or being exactly what we didn’t want to do or be. If we set out to not be an angry person, because we grew up with angry parents, we will almost assuredly find uncontrolled anger in our adult lives. When we set out to stop eating poor foods, we spend all day thinking about the poor foods and end up eating them. When we decide to lose weight, the vision falters days or mere weeks into our efforts.
Intend to be a kind father, instead of committing not to be an angry one like yours was.
Intend to be someone people can trust and rely on, instead of being someone who never lies.
Intend to love and serve your Father, instead of trying not to break the “christian rules”.
Intend to live an active lifestyle that promotes good quality sleep and less stress, instead of trying to lose weight or eat better.
When we orient our hearts in truth and set our vision correctly, moving away from what we don't want is the byproduct not the focus.
Do you see the difference? Imagine the captain of a ship calling to his mate to set any course, for anywhere but 0 degrees North. The ship would be lost sailing endlessly, and at risk of circling back to exactly where it sought to escape without a firm direction. Without direction the people of Egypt would have exchanged one tyrant and found another. Without direction we will break up with one abusive relationship and find ourselves facing the same abuse with a different face. Without direction we will leave our unhealthy homes and recreate the very homes we swore not to a generation later.
So how do we set direction, to sail us out of troubled waters and into God's promised lands?
We begin with identity. We decide who we are and who we want to be.
(The past can inform us of who we don't want to be, by truthfully analyzing what hasn't worked or benefited our lives, it just can't be the end of the story or the course setting)
We establish our value, the value God sees in us, the pure self he constructed in the womb. Moses spent 40 years living the life of a prince of Egypt, before he led the Hebrew slaves. He knew he was significant, he was used to being valued and heard. From this place of self-value, he looked at his Hebrew heritage, his Hebrew brothers and sisters in slavery, and executed God's calling to lead them to a new destination.
Once we establish our worth, we look to where our worth is not being recognized. Most recently, for me personally, alcohol was holding me back from realizing the full potential of my life. It took some 5 to 7 times of God calling me to leave it alone, but it wasn't until I replaced the fear of missing out on a date night with wine, or beers with a friend, with the fear of missing out on all of God's glory he has planned for me, that I moved into commitment to a new direction of an alcohol-free 2025. My vision is set on the awesomeness of living in God's plan, the peace and joy he promises that will come of it, and the byproduct will be the absence of the alcohol consumption that I identified I want to move away from.
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Peace be with you,
Sam
For more about identity and fear, Jamie Winship is an excellent source in his podcasts, youtube videos, and courses.
For more about the royalty God proclaims in us, “The Ways of Supernatural Royalty” written by Bill Johnson and Kris Vallaton is a phenomenal book that elaborates more on the Moses storyline above.
