By Dianna Hobbs // Your Daily Cup of Inspiration

Denzel Washington as Robert McCall in *The Equalizer 3* (Sony Pictures)

Editor’s Note: This devotion was written by Dianna Hobbs and used by permission from her ‘Your Daily Cup of Inspiration’ blog. To read more encouragement like this, visit YourDailyCupOfInspiration.com. Prefer to listen to the audio format of this devotion? Click on the player below.

Yesterday was my husband Kenya’s 51st birthday. He celebrated in the comfort of our home, eating a tasty meal, enjoying birthday cake and ice cream, watching a movie, and basking in the joys of quality time with the family.

Keeping things simple is his favorite way to celebrate each year. It gives him time to relax, since he is usually on the go with ministry, meetings and community work. He loved his down time yesterday, and I was happy to see him relaxed and happy.

So, Happy Birthday, babe!

For the evening’s entertainment, his film of choice was The Equalizer 3 starring Denzel Washington—his favorite actor of all time. Kenya has seen and raved about every Equalizer film in the series, including the third one we just watched together last night.

In case you have not seen it and are planning to watch, I’ll try not to give away any spoilers. However, I will say that the Equalizer 3 film is distinct from the rest of them. It is set in Southern Italy with breathtaking views, and half of the motion picture was spoken in Italian with no subtitles. Since no one in the Hobbs family speaks Italian, there was a huge chunk of the film’s dialogue that none of us could understand.

After watching, I was curious about why the director and production team chose not to translate the Italian lines, so I did a little research. Turns out, this creative choice was made with the intent of enhancing the sense of immersion and authenticity for the viewers. By omitting subtitles, the creators hoped to replicate the experience of not understanding a foreign language or being in a situation where communication barriers exist.

The absence of subtitles let the audience feel the frustration, confusion, and vulnerability that can arise when encountering a language barrier. Our family was sitting there trying to interpret the actions and emotions of the characters through visual cues, facial expressions, and body language which effectively added a layer of complexity to the narrative.

So, after the movie was over, Kenya and I and all the Hobbs kids—albeit mostly grown kids now— sat around for a while to discuss the lack of subtitles and the impact it had on our viewing experience. Overall, our family agrees that this creative choice had the director’s desired impact, and the movie felt confusing at times.

Whether watching a movie or living life, it is not unusual for lack of familiarity and the absence of understanding to create feelings of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual discomfort, right? When occupying foreign territory, whether that is in a different country or simply uncharted territory at any place in your life, the rules of engagement, the customs, and the power dynamics are all very different from what you’re accustomed to.

“Though you may be in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable place, as long as you are in the center of God’s will, you’re right where He wants you to be.”

— Dianna Hobbs

This is precisely the predicament Israel found themselves in as described in Psalm 137, a passage from the Hebrew Bible in the Old Testament. It paints a picture of the Israelites in a period of mourning and sorrow after being forced into exile.

At the time, God allowed their captors, the Babylonians—an ancient Mesopotamian empire known for their military prowess and sophisticated culture—to conquer the Israelites and take them from their homeland, Jerusalem.

Whilst in bondage, which was judgement for Israel’s disobedience, the Babylonians demanded that the Israelites sing their sacred songs as entertainment to which Israel responded by asking God in verse 4, “How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?”

The Babylonians’ demand for Israel to entertain them with worship songs was an insult and a form of psychological warfare. It was a way to demoralize Israel, display dominance, and break their spirit while showcasing Babylonian power.

Have you ever been in a demoralizing situation? A humiliating predicament? A specifically humbling set of circumstances that made you feel inferior, disrespected, frustrated and powerless? When you’re going through seasons like this, the enemy uses them to challenge your sense of worth and torment you psychologically. He tries to use your calamity to undermine your identity like the Babylonians did with the Israelites.

Friend, the enemy cannot stand it when you know who you are and walk with your head held high. So, he tries to use the ups and downs of life to systematically break you down, expose your vulnerability and make you question your identity. But God sent me to be your purpose pusher and faith activator today and remind you that where you are in your life does not determine who you are. Don’t ever get that twisted. You are who God says you are.

You might be broke in the natural, but you are yet rich in the spirit. Your bank account does not take into account the unfailing promises that God has spoken over you and what He has yet to release into your hands. It doesn’t matter if your account is lacking when God has promised you abundant blessings. Declare over yourself that my come-up is on the horizon.

You may be viewed as a lowly pauper in society, but you are a King’s kid (Romans 8:15-16, 1 Peter 2:9). You may be sick now, but by Jesus’s stripes you are healed (Isaiah 53:5). You may be under attack now, but you are more than a conqueror through Him that loved us (Romans 8:31). You may feel unproductive, stagnant, and stuck, but you are purposeful in the Kingdom of God, and you will bear much fruit (John 15:2).

Again, where you are does not determine who you are.

This is something God has had to consistently remind me of over the past four years, as I have been healing from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) after a ministroke and multiple seizures battered my poor brain. It has been a slow, grueling, discouraging process at times.

There were days when the TBI felt like it had taken over my life and robbed me of my identity. I was trying to function while dealing with unpredictable mood disorders, post-traumatic stress syndrome, emotional highs and lows, speech challenges, and confusion in my thinking patterns. I cannot tell you how hard it has been. It was as if a malicious enemy had hijacked my moods, thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and my entire existence. I was at home in my body but in a strange land in my mind.

That was rough. It challenged my personal and spiritual identity. But God brought me through that. I’m better now. The worst part is over. I feel like me again, and I possess a greater understanding of who I am in Christ. But, before I got on the other side of it, I still had to know that my worth and value are not tied to external indicators, emotions and feelings.

I am who God says I am and so are you. Though it doesn’t seem like progress is being made, God is doing an internal work that will show up externally in due season. Right now, however, He’s maturing you, preparing you, teaching you, strengthening you, and positioning you for greater.

No matter what you see around you, it doesn’t change what is within you. The equipping power of the Holy Ghost resides inside, and you will do, be, and possess all He has ordained! I command you to live and step into the fulness of who God has called you to be.

Even what Israel was going through in the Old Testament, that captivity, had redemptive value. God never intended to destroy them but to restore them to a place of perfect divine fellowship with the Father. He just wanted to be their God, their healer, their sustainer, their main source and resource. Again, God’s intent was not destruction but restoration.

The same is true for you. What you’re going through won’t lead to destruction, but to restoration and elevation. It’s working for your good.

By faith, declare right now, “It’s all good.”

I know that it may feel and look all bad, but it’s all good. All good outcomes are coming out of this difficult test. But, as you wait for your season to change, whether that be four weeks, four months, four years, or forty years, don’t you give up. Don’t stop fighting. Don’t stop pressing. Don’t stop believing and declaring that you will reach your land of promise. This will not be your undoing. God has graced and conditioned you for this fight. If you don’t give up, you’ll come through it better than you were before.

As 2 Timothy 2:3 NKJV says, which is the sweetener I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration today, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, remember that hardship comes before the harvest. And surely, a harvest is coming.

This will not destroy you. God will restore you. The word of the Lord will be fulfilled in your life. And His word says in Jeremiah 29:11, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

Now, let’s pray.

God, thank You for reminding me that even through hardship, Your plans for my life are yet intact. As I walk through uncertain times, where I am unfamiliar with Your plan, help me stand upon Your word and call to mind Your unflawed record of faithfulness to deliver and restore. Despite what I see, I declare that I am who You say I am, and You say I am already victorious through Christ! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Dianna Hobbs is founder of EEW Magazine Online and CEO of Empowering Everyday Women Ministries — a 501c3 nonprofit organization that shares the gospel and provides humanitarian aid to the hurting. She is also the writer of Your Daily Cup of Inspiration and executive producer of the companion podcast. Follow Dianna on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube. Sign up for her free ministry newsletter here.