Many people are not settled with who they are. They live behind tightly closed doors, afraid to come out and discover who God created them to be. Fear will keep them locked up living a very lonely life. Life is like a race - you can only win if you come out and participate. Many people have been hurt and therefore, they are unable to enter into the abundant life God has prepared for them. Fear of rejection is what keeps many people from the abundant life.  The fear of rejection can be conquered when you discover your true identity. God’s Word has the keys that will unlock your identity and release you to participate in the race set before you. In life everyone wins when they embrace who God has created them to be and do what God has called them to do.

Have you ever asked this question, “Who am I?” The answer is a perception of how you see yourself, your value, and worth. This perception has been implanted into your mind over time and in many cases, it is based on incorrect information and even lies that you have believed. Therefore, it is very likely that the way you see yourself is not your true identity. The way you see yourself may be all twisted and tangled up, a mixture with some truth and some lies. The goal of this exercise is to help you separate the truth from the lies.

Stop now and pray asking the Holy Spirit to come and reveal the truth of who God has called you to be. There may be a vast difference between who you think you are and who God says you are. The following keys from God’s Word can set you free to be who He says you are.
 
The Key of Acceptance
Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:6, “I am accepted in the beloved.”  For many years I read this verse, but I just couldn’t get it. The lies I had believe were blocking my ability to receive the truth. I had experienced a great deal of rejection as a child and the lies I believed about myself were still there, even as an adult. You may struggle just like I did, always approaching others with an expectation of rejection. Rejection is a reality we all experience from time to time, but should not be taken on as an identity. The fear of rejection can keep you defeated and bound up in fear for many years. You may have experienced rejection, but you are not rejected. One of the schemes of Satan is to define you by what you have been through, like past hurts and defeats. Satan is the “father of lies” and he plants lies into our mind like seeds. He knows that if he can successfully plant these lies at an early age, he can govern the way you think. If he can control the way you think, then he can govern the way you feel with very little additional input. Most of our actions are determined by how we think and how we feel. When the way we think is based on lies, we will be prone to make repeated bad decisions. Satan knows that if he can plant lies when we are young and vulnerable, then he can program you for defeat and self-destruction. If you have received the lie that you are rejected, then every defeat or failure will confirm that this lie is true. In my life this proved to be a very effective scheme of destruction. 

Satan’s lies can be imparted directly through rejection and criticism, or indirectly by the absence of truth and positive affirmation. To determine the lies you have believed, you must look at what you believed as a child. As long as you believe the lies you believed as a child, you will think and feel as you did as a child. When you are a child you believe both truth and lies as all truth. Parents are the door that truth or lies must travel through to get to their children. Many parents have been blinded from seeing their significant role in confirming the truth of who God says their children are. The truth is a shield that protects their children from believing lies. If lies are believed, they have a life of their own and will continue to play over and over in our mind like a broken record. Rejection lies sound like this: you are worthless, you will never measure up, and you don’t belong. If these lies got through the door into your soul as a child, they may be governing the way you think about yourself and the way you think about your present circumstances. The lies from rejection can only be dispelled with the truth from God’s Word. The truth is the key that will set you free. The key that will unlock you from the pain caused by rejection is acceptance. If you have been hurt by rejection, God’s will for you is to be healed and set you free. By faith right now receive the truth from God, “You are loved and accepted in the beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6)

The Key of Blessing
“You are blessed with all spiritual blessings” Ephesians 1:3
Blessing is a powerful key. Blessing is God’s primary mechanism of confirming identity and establishing you into your purpose. When God blesses you, He accepts and receives you as His own. In the Hebrew, the word blessing means: to be empowered to prosper. A simple way to define blessing is to be accepted, and received, and regarded as one who has great worth and value. When God blesses you, He empowers you to prosper.

The highest form of blessing we can receive from an earthly vessel is to be blessed by a parent. God’s heart was to provide a safe place to impart identity into His children, and that’s why He established the home. The home is to be a haven where children are loved and affirmed as their identity is being discovered. Blessing is a key that fits perfectly into the key hole of each child’s heart to unlock their unique potential. Every child and adult alike needs to hear the words, “I love you, and I am proud of you.” A parent’s affirmation and blessing can empower their children to prosper and thrive as adults. The effect of parental blessings affects each of us for many years in our marriage, business, and even in our ministry.

The Appointed Time For Blessings
1. The first appointed time for blessing is at birth. Since God blesses the covenant of marriage, at birth a child is identified as a blessing, a joy, and an expression of the love between the two parents. Even from birth a child will feel blessed to be loved and accepted as a valuable addition to the family. Being received as a blessing gives identity. If this appointed time for blessing did not occur in your life, ask God to redeem all that was lost.

2. The second appointed time for blessing is when you receive your name. In biblical days, a name had such great significance that the parents would pray and seek God before announcing the name of their son or daughter. The name was announced and the baby was presented on the eighth day after birth. Many times a person had knowledge of their purpose in life through their name. Take Elijah for example; his name means “Jehovah is God.” Elijah’s destiny was announced in his name, and his purpose was to declare that Jehovah was the true God. His purpose and calling in life had been imparted into him through his parents. If this appointed time for blessing did not occur in your life, ask God to redeem all that was lost.

3. The third appointed time for blessing is at the age of thirteen when a boy becomes a young man, and a girl becomes a young woman. In biblical times at the age of thirteen, fathers spoke a special father’s blessing releasing his son into manhood. At this time, a father would also bless his daughter and release her into womanhood. A father’s blessing is so important for a young man or woman to properly enter into adulthood. If this appointed time for blessing did not occur in your life, ask God to redeem all that was lost.

4. The fourth appointed time for blessing is when a young man or woman chooses a mate. When you get married, a father blesses the marriage by being the best man. Or a father blesses his daughter when he gives her away. If this appointed time for blessing did not occur in your life, ask God to redeem all that was lost.

Redeeming the Time
If you were not blessed with a father’s blessing during these four appointed times, only God can redeem the time and all that was lost.

“Although my father and mother have forsaken me, yet the Lord will take me up (adopt me as His child)” Psalm 27:10 Amp.

Ask God to take you up and redeem all that was lost, and redeem all those years when you did not receive your earthly father’s blessing. Ask Him to restore all the years the canker worm has eaten. As God redeems what was lost, you must release those who did not bless you (parents or grandparents). Every one needs a father’s blessing and will struggle for years wondering, “Who am I,” but feeling they are past the age to ask. Now is the time to ask! Ask God for a Father’s Blessing, and He will bless you with all spiritual blessings.

A Father’s Blessing
God says in His Word to ask and it shall be given to you. Ask and He will bless you. All He requires is for you make peace with your earthly father. As you make peace by forgiving and releasing your earthly father, you will be able to fully receive your Heavenly Father’s blessings.

Making Peace
If your father is still alive, you can make peace with him through forgiveness. Pray the following prayer to forgive him for not blessing you. Even if you have forgiven him for hurting you in other ways, forgiveness is like pealing an onion you forgive one layer at a time and one issue at a time.

A Prayer to Forgive
Lord, I don’t know how to make forgiveness happen.
I have tried to change my feelings but I can’t. I need you to help me forgive.

Today I’m making a choice to forgive. I know I’ll have to choose again and again until you make forgiveness real and complete in me.

I choose to forgive _____________ for______________.

Forgive me for demanding they pay me for the harm they have done. I accept the blood of Jesus as payment in full, they owe me nothing. Cleanse me also of the sinful responses of bitterness and resentment and wash my heart clean. Forgive me for all condemning judgments that I have made towards them. Renew me with a new and right spirit.
In Jesus name Amen.

Expect a Blessing
Once you have forgiven your father expect a blessing from him, listen to what he has to say. He can speak a powerful blessing over you even at an elderly age. No matter what age you are, your earthly father’s words are still anointed with the blessings of God. I have personally watched and listened as an elderly father spoke words of affirmation to his son; but, because of unforgiveness, the son could not receive them. If your father is unapproachable, or not alive, you can still make peace through forgiveness. Forgiveness positions you properly to receive a blessing. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.” (Ephesians 1: 3) 

Written by Denise Boggs