Mistaken Identity
When I attempted to write this blog post the other day, I realized that this topic was just way too big, to condense into one blog post.
In my writing process, many times I don’t know exactly what I’m going to say, or how things will flow, until I actually start writing. So, I decided to break this down into a three-part series.
Identity is one of the most important (if not the most important) aspect of our lives as Christians. The revelation of our identity, and who we are in Christ, is completely life changing.
In my Prison Break blog post back in May, I shared this…
“The enemy is after our identity! Think about it. There are so many things in the world today that keep us distracted, and fight for our attention. The enemy wants us to find purpose and identity in everything else EXCEPT GOD.”
But why is this?
It’s because knowing our true identity reveals how powerless the enemy really is, and how POWERFUL we really are in Christ!
As I began to think about my own life, I realized how mistaken I had been about my own identity.
Like you, I’ve had different titles and roles over the years. For example, mother, wife, and blogger are just some of the titles/roles, that I could use to describe myself today.
God has been teaching me that my identity (who I am in Him), shouldn’t be defined by my title(s), or the roles/responsibilities that I have. We must be careful not to let our “roles” and “titles” define us.
Let me give you some examples…
So, at one point in my life, I let the Air Force define me. When I left the military after 12 years, and became a civilian again, I remember feeling lost. I no longer had the title of “Airman”.
When I no longer had that title, or played that role, I felt as though I had lost my identity. I remember asking myself “Now, who am I?”
When I first became a parent, I let motherhood define me. I quickly realized, that while being a parent is one of the most important roles I will ever have, that it’s easy to lose yourself. My identity was found only in being a mother, and for a while, I felt like I had no sense of purpose outside of that. (I’m sure there are other parents that can relate to this.)
For many years, I let the culture define me. Partying, drinking, and having “fun”, was my life! Like I shared recently in Beauty Scars, how I looked was all that mattered to me. I had no passions, dreams, or aspirations outside of “living for the moment.”
Allowing our identities to be determined by things, jobs, relationships and people etc, can be detrimental to our destiny, and where God is trying to take us.
When the job is lost, the relationship is over, or the role changes, we can end up feeling as though we’ve “lost ourselves.” (Again, I know that many of us have been there.)
“Our roles change. Our titles change. God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Our true identity can only be found in Him. ”
When I look back over some of those moments in my life, I realized that I had no clue of who I really was. Growing up in church, I knew the bible said God had a plan for my life, but for some reason, I didn’t believe that plan applied to me.
The wonderful thing about God is that, He sees where we are currently, but He also knows where we are going. We see who we are now, but God sees where we will be.
I want to help you discover your true identity in God. You are not defined by your past, nor are you defined by where you are currently. Allow God to tell you who you are, and exactly who He created you to be.
Next week, we’ll be diving deeper into the Identity Series. We’ll be discussing how discovering our true identity, allows God’s plans for our lives to be revealed.
So stay tuned!
Today’s Prayer
Father God, thank you that my identity is found not in people, or titles, but is found in you. Thank you for revealing yourself to me. I pray for revelation, insight and understanding of who I am, and who you created me to be. Show me any areas of my life, where the enemy has deceived me into finding identity in anything outside of you. Lead me down the path you have for my life, so that your will may be accomplished. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Today’s Readings: Genesis 1:27, Ephesians 2:10
Genesis 1:27 (NLT) “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”