| Validation blessing |
|
 Deborah P. Brunt
When God spoke to me, targeting invalidation, my spirit leapt up, but my mind struggled. What did he mean? What does invalidation look like? How was it affecting me? How could I overcome it?
To find the answer, I began a treasure hunt, searching through Scripture, online articles, dictionaries and thesaurus entries. As I searched, I found myself rewriting lyrics Carly Simon sang years ago. Simon said:
"Anticipation, Anticipation
Is making me late
Is keeping me waiting"
I sang:
"Invalidation, Invalidation
Is shutting me out
Is keeping me waiting"
Eager not to remain shut out, I shouted aloud on discovering The Message paraphrase of Psalm 37:5-6:
"Open up before GOD, keep nothing back;
he'll do whatever needs to be done:
He'll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon." |
| Invalids in waiting |
For several months, I've continued to hunt, seeking to understand what my Father is saying about validation and invalidation. I can't yet give you a rational teaching on the subject, but I can share with you the precious jewels the Lord has deposited into my spirit so far.
One thing I realized early in my search: Many, many have experienced invalidation, often without knowing what to call it. Many, many are pursuing validation, often without knowing that's what they're doing.
Invalidation occurs when individuals or groups whose opinions you value refuse to treat you with respect, to stamp you with approval, to affirm that who you are and what you offer counts.
Tragically, invalidation creates invalids. It leaves people blind, sick, lame and paralyzed. In fact, the words in·val´·id and in´·val·id are one.
John 5 tells of a man who lay, waiting, beside a pool called Bethesda. The man "had been an invalid for thirty-eight years" (v. 5). Near that pool stood a gate. The gate was open, but the man couldn't go through it.
Once someone minimizes our value, how easily we can become like that disabled man. Paralyzed yet desperate, we position ourselves as close as possible to the place we think we'll find validation. We buddy up to the people we think can help us attain it. We believe the rumors as to how it happens: Once in a great while, an angel stirs some waters - and the lucky person who can beat out the competition gets what every waiting invalid craves. |
| Look away |
|
You know what?
- No one ever conquers invalidation by pursuing validation.
- No one ever conquers invalidation by beating out "the competition."
- No one ever conquers invalidation by jumping first into a Bethesda pool.
That strategy offers nothing but false hope and frustration.
If you've been laid low by invalidation, it's time to pry your gaze away from that place you've tried so hard, so long and so futilely to reach. Look away, and look up, for Jesus stands before you, just as he stood before the paralyzed man at the pool.
Jesus doesn't just survey the crowd in general. He sees you. He knows you've been lying there in that condition a long time. He asks, "Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6). Literally, "Do you want to become sound, accurate, useful and beneficial?" Do you want your life validated in the clear light of day?
Ultimately, you'll answer that question with your eyes, as well as your voice. If your gaze strays back to the Bethesda pool - if you insist on looking to anyone or anything for validation other than Christ - you choose life as an invalid, regardless what you may declare with your mouth. If you gaze into your Father's eyes, your Bridegroom's eyes, your Comforter's eyes and keep focusing there, you may at first try to tell him why validation seems hopeless for you, but your protests will soon die away.
Jesus will not coax or cajole you. Though you lie helpless, he will not patronize you, and he will NOT roll you toward that pool. He will speak with deep compassion that carries no taint of pity. Indeed, his compassion will sound strangely like a command. He'll declare your validation accomplished. In him, by him and through him, it is done. Your job is to stand up and step into it. |
| Get up! |
Romans 12:3 says "The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him" (MSG).
As the Lord began to reveal who he is and what he's done for me - by invalidating invalidation - the blessing below emerged. I offer this blessing to you in the name of the One who purchased your validation with his blood. The Validation Blessing declares what belongs to you from the moment you confess Jesus as Lord - and what will manifest more and more as you focus on Christ and rise up and walk by his Spirit.
You cannot beat anyone out to get this blessing. You don't have to worry that someone will step ahead of you and claim it all for themselves. Jesus offers the blessing of full validation to all who receive him.
I urge you to read the entire blessing aloud, to do so repeatedly if needed, and to receive in your spirit what God is saying to you, without trying to mentally grasp all the words or to understand how they can possibly describe you. Where I've put a blank, your Lord is speaking your name. So say your name aloud.
No matter who has counted you out, no matter how long invalidation has crippled you, here's the question Jesus asks: Do you want to become who I have made you? As you read and receive this blessing, hear him say to you, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk" (John 5:8). |
| The blessing |
 "God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ,
putting his Yes within us.
By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge -
a sure beginning
of what he is destined to complete" (2 Cor. 1:21-22 MSG).
I AM validates you!
_______, be richly blessed with full validation because I AM validates you. He constitutes you. He approves you. He authenticates you and authorizes you. I AM confirms you, corroborates you and endorses you. He gives you HIS stamp of approval. He gives you the go-ahead, gives you the green light, gives you the nod. He bears you out. He justifies you, legalizes you and legitimizes you. He makes you binding. He makes you stick. He okays you, ratifies you, sanctions you and signs off on you. _______, I AM substantiates you and verifies you. HE sets HIS seal on YOU. Receive the blessing of HIS validation.
"Open up before GOD, keep nothing back;
he'll do whatever needs to be done:
He'll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon" (Ps 37:5-6MSG).
In HIM, you are valid!
_______, be richly blessed with full validation because in Christ, you are valid. In HIM, you are accurate, attested, authentic and authoritative. In HIM, you are binding and bona fide. You are cogent, compelling, conclusive, confirmed, convincing and credible. In HIM, you are determinative. You are efficacious, efficient and good. In HIM, you are in force. You are irrefutable, just and kosher. You are lawful, legal, legit, legitimate and logical. In Christ, you are official, original, persuasive, potent, powerful, proven and pure. You are solid, sound, stringent, strong and substantial. In HIM, you are telling, tested, true and trustworthy. You are ultimate, unadulterated, unanswerable and uncorrupted. You are well-founded and well-grounded. _______, do not pursue validation. Receive the validation HE has given you. In HIM, you are weighty. You are genuine. You are valid.
". . . I will make you like my signet ring,
for I have chosen you,'
declares the LORD Almighty" (Haggai 2:23).
. . . . . . .
Accessed 7/1/09.
Definition of "well" (NT:5199) - from Greek-English Lexicon Based on Semantic Domain. Copyright © 1988 United Bible Societies, New York. Used by permission.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, Today's New International Version™ TNIV ®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society ®. All rights reserved worldwide. Also quoted: THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language (MSG) © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. |
| You get your life back . . . |
Step further into the validation you've already received in Christ.
Intimate setting - only 36 spots available in onsite hotel-style accommodations
November 2-4, 2009
Aqueduct Conference Center
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Experience . . .
time alone with God
encouragement in small groups
teaching sessions led by Deborah Brunt
Expose . . . four "plexiglass walls" religion uses to fool and imprison:
relentless activity
dependence on "experts" to hear from God
confused loyalties
invalidation
Explore . . .
The wonder of release into a spacious place where you encounter God more fully and become who he created you to be more completely than you ever dreamed possible.
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