"Who am I?"
So what really is Identity? We have all heard the phrase “who am I,” right? It seems to be one of the most soul wrenching questions out there, we hear it in movies, songs and literature pretty much daily. It is a question that has plagued our society for generations and it is a question that I almost allowed to destroy me.
Here is the thing, we all have an identity but what we need to look at is how our identity is being formed. Where do you get your ideas and beliefs of what makes up who you are?
I grew up in a Christian home where I was taught that God loved me and that Jesus Christ died for me so I could be forgiven for my sin. I knew this as a fact in my mind from a young age but I didn’t truly understand what this all meant for me until a few years ago.
They say that a young mind is moldable, teachable, and pliable and I couldn’t agree more. We allow experiences and influences, whether good or bad, to shape and define us. For instance: The TV tells me that a beautiful woman is 5”9 and 120 pounds, I definitely don’t fit that so I am not beautiful. Or my dad didn’t show up to my concert again, I must be a worthless waste of time. Here’s another one; I just failed my exam, I’m an idiot and no one will ever be proud of me. My boyfriend went and cheated on me, I am unloved and unwanted. Some of these may sound pretty extreme and dramatic but let’s be real with each other and admit that these are just some of the ideas (or filthy dirty lies as I like to call them) that we allow define us.
Up until a few years ago that is where I got my identity from. I was hurt, angry, and unsure of myself and had no confidence. One day I would be feeling okay and the next day I would look in the mirror and just feel disgust. You see, that is how the world wants us to remain. If we continue to just focus on ourselves and our shortcomings we will never be effective in what God desires for us to do in life for Him and ourselves.
Thank goodness God really got hold of me and did some serious shaking up! He opened my eyes to the truth and power of His word (the Bible). A few examples of His word that resonates with me are Psalm 139:14 “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” Galatians 4:5-6 “So that we may receive adoptions as sons and daughters of God” and Ephesians 1:19-20 “…That you now have the same power in you that raised Christ from the dead.” These are some powerful pieces of scripture! They are truth and who we really are as daughters of God! You are always loved, always wanted, always treasured, always beautiful, always full of power and forever redeemed by Christ. Circumstances cannot change that, experiences cannot take that away from you and people cannot tell you anything different. Isn’t that amazing!?
This is why identity in Christ is the key. It is the key to freedom. It is the key to peace and rest. It is the key to living a joyful life. It is the key to absolutely everything.