“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” (Song of Solomon 6:3)
When I encountered the Spirit of Grace a few years ago on the beach, one of the greatest shifts in my paradigm was the sense of identity I received from just being God’s beloved. In the ministry that I led at the time, I had a very strong identity in my role. When my mother became ill, it became necessary for me to resign my position in the ministry to care for her. My identity in that role was so deeply ingrained that it took over a year after I resigned for it to unravel. For those of us who were steeped in performance based ministry, there are no short cuts. Understanding righteousness as sons of God and gaining 100% security in our identity in Christ can take years. For me, I was too desperate and burned out to hang on to anything that had given me a sense of security outside of Christ. I felt like the woman who poured out the alabaster box of perfume at His feet. I saw what He had done for me, the extent of His forgiveness, and the unfairness of His sacrifice for me. And mostly, I saw His love. I am His beloved and He is mine. No other identity or position or title or role touches it. Now I know:
I am loved.
I am accepted.
I am approved of.
“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” (Song of Solomon 6:3)1
A few years ago I encountered the Spirit of Grace while walking on the beach, and God opened my eyes to His amazing grace by giving me a glimpse of His Son shedding His blood for me and making me gloriously righteous~blameless~cleansed~whole~beautiful. I saw the enormity of His sacrifice and the absoluteness of God’s forgiveness. I was touched more deeply than ever before as I let this truth penetrate my heart. After years of teaching others, I was finally getting it myself! I looked at Him and I said, “I don’t deserve this. This can’t be right! This is the most unfair thing I have ever seen!” All of a sudden my first love returned, and I exclaimed, “I love You, Lord. I love You! I will do ANYTHING for You. I want to live for You forever.” His response: “Tricia, I just want you to rest.” All of the pressure I had felt disappeared. All the heavy burdens fell off, and I felt so free that it seemed almost like I could fly. At last there was no more “HAVE to” … no more duty-bound obligations. The need for man’s approval, all the exhaustion, the do-do-do mentality, the need to please the Lord all dropped off of my shoulders. With that freedom came the realization that He was pleased with me and had been all along. Nothing else mattered to me at that moment except His love, His acceptance, and His approval.
On the beach that day, Jesus gave me revelation of the great New Covenant reality: by His blood all my sin has been removed. All of my condemnation was nailed to the cross. Now I was like Him, raised and seated in heavenly places. I had known the theological facts, but I encountered the Person of Grace, and my spiritual eyes were opened. In that glorious moment my life changed forever.
One of the greatest shifts in my paradigm was the sense of identity I received from just being God’s beloved. In the ministry that I led at the time, I had a very strong identity in my role. When my mother became ill, it became necessary for me to resign my position in the ministry to care for her. My identity in that role was so deeply ingrained that it took over a year after I resigned for it to unravel. For those of us who were steeped in performance based ministry, there are no short cuts. Understanding righteousness as sons of God and gaining 100% security in our identity in Christ can take years. For me, I was too desperate and burned out to hang on to anything that had given me a sense of security outside of Christ. I felt like the woman who poured out the alabaster box of perfume at His feet. I saw what He had done for me, the extent of His forgiveness, and the unfairness of His sacrifice for me. And mostly, I saw His love. I am His beloved and He is mine. No other identity or position or title or role touches it. Now I know:
I am loved.
I am accepted.
I am approved of.
(from page 25 and 274 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)”
