My coworkers (who I loved absolutely dearly and who I know loved me too) were suddenly constantly joking around and saying things like:

“Oh I bet you are planning to quit soon! All the good teachers end up quitting as soon as they have a baby!”

I had many coworkers who were amazing mothers who worked full time as teachers, but still I could feel the judgment.

Everyone expected me, the new young mom, to now quit, because they had seen it plenty of times before.

And I did not want to prove them right.

But what they didn’t know is that I had already received super personal revelation that I needed to quit my job.

They didn’t realize how much I had wrestled with the Lord over the revelation, but couldn’t deny it.

And so here I was, about to resign from my job, with coworkers who were constantly joking about how I would probably quit soon.

Have I mentioned I don’t like being a stereotype?!

I honestly felt a little insecure and embarrassed about quitting.

I didn’t want to be labeled and judged.

As I prayed a lot about this though, my thoughts started to change.

The Lord quietly taught me that I can have confidence when I remember who I am and when I act with His power on His revelation.

I am a child of God.

He has a path for me.

And I can feel confidence and peace with that.

If other people want to judge me for following my personal revelation?

I can’t control that.

Jesus Himself experienced people doubting and trying to incorrectly label Him.

“Is not this Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:22)

“If thou be the Son of God…” (Matthew 4:3)

But Jesus wasn’t swayed by others mislabeling Him or doubting His worth.

And I don’t need to be either.

When I remember that I am a Child of God, I gain confidence to act on my personal revelation, with true authority, no matter what others may think.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Remembering who I am  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Gratefully, that has not been the case in my life thus far.

But… I sure face temptations.

In my teenage years, the temptations were more focused on “choosing the wrong”.

It wasn’t all that difficult to figure out where the enemy was tempting me: to lie, to cross that line, to make that choice.

It was a clear temptation to do something I knew logically was wrong.

But as I’ve matured spiritually, I’ve recognized that the adversary has needed to change tactics with me.

Now the temptations are more like “choose this fun thing over this thing that would be best” or “you’re doing fine compared to these other people so no need to improve” or “you’ll never be good enough so why even bother trying”.

And I’ve noticed it’s actually harder to call these out as “temptations”.

But Moses gives us the perfect pattern that can help.

When we remember who we are and our divine identity, the temptations are a whole lot easier to call out and rebuke.

“I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten… Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not”. (Moses 1:13-16)

Elder Stevenson taught:

“Command the enemy of your soul by saying: ‘Go away! You have no glory. Do not tempt or lie to me! For I know I am a child of God. And I will always call upon my God for His help.’”

He tempts and he lies. That’s his work.

God’s work and glory is infinitely more magnificent.

And we are His children.

The more I understand this, the easier it is to identify: “Wait a second, why would I ever think that it’s not worth trying to improve? I’m a daughter of God and so of course I’m going to keep trying.”

“I’m a daughter of God and I know that so much more joy comes from service and work than from another round of that TV show.”

“I’m a daughter of God so I know I can’t compare myself to others to judge my progress. I want to keep getting closer to God, no matter what.”

Knowing my identity makes it easier to call out the lies.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Calling out the lies first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.