I was given the challenge of uncovering who God said I was. I knew the churchy answer, I thought. But when addressed face to face by another person, “who does God say you are?”, I realized, I didn’t really know the answer. I knew who I was by my circumstances, child of divorce, a survivor of abuse, teacher, wife, mother, sister, and so on. But I had never really looked at who God said I was. You see, my identity was shaped by my circumstances. Sinner, victim, failure, not quite enough, top-notch teacher, best wife. My identity swung wildly with the circumstances of my life. No one title ever stuck, no one value ever stuck, it was always based on my performance and achievement. My circumstances determined my value and my value determined my identity. I was in a dark place facing down all the rough stuff that had ever happened to me, and that I had ever done. I was facing perceived failures. A heavy cloud of assumption hung over my life defining who I was. My assumptions came from my circumstances and how others defined my performance. I accepted the challenge and went to my Bible to dig. All I could find was that I was a created, chosen child of God, Psalm 139 :13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Galatians 4:7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. Romans 1:6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. No other identity was there, nothing…chosen and forgiven child of God, that is ALL He says I am. That was it, nothing else…At first I thought there had to be more, right? I let the simplicity of the answer settle in my soul. The heavy cloud of lies based on assumptions and circumstances lifted. The burden of performance and circumstances no longer burned my shoulders. I was created by Him, wanted by Him and loved by Him no matter what, and my status in God’s family was established.
I belonged and it wasn’t based on my achievement, performance or circumstances. God didn’t care about that, He cared about me, His creation.
We operate out of who we are. If who we are isn’t secure, we aren’t secure and our choices are made out of trying to fill that void, find that purpose, or keep that status. Circumstances change quickly, “life happens” as we say. If we are finding our identity and value in our circumstances and performance our eyes are ultimately on ourselves. Isn’t that Pride? Pride doesn’t have to be a big ego, it can be seeing ourselves as worthless. Pride is anytime we are focused more on ourselves than God. Pride blurs the identity we have from God.
How have circumstances, achievement, or performance defined who you are?
What is God revealing to you about you?
What is God revealing about Himself?
Does knowing your identity as a child, daughter or heir to God change anything for you?
Truth Takeaway
Life should reflect our identity, not define our identity. Pride blurs the identity we have from God.
