Identity Crisis - Encouragement Café - August 3, 2015

Identity Crisis

Café Menu for Monday, August 3, 2015

Today’s Special is:  Who Am I?

Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Jamy Whitaker

Main Ingredient:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Psalm 139:13 NIV

Entrée:

Every day we are bombarded with images of what we are supposed to look like and how we are supposed to act.  If we aren’t careful, we can be swept into the societal belief that our worth is based on our outward appearance.  When we give into this notion, we are letting society construct our identity.  

The real question we need to ask ourselves is, where does our identity come from?

Satan knows exactly how and where to attack each one of us.  He knows where we are vulnerable.  Even back in the Garden of Eden, he used lies and doubt to tempt Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and he is still using the same tactics today.  As Christians, we need to learn to recognize the lies and replace them with God’s Truth.  

Satan wants us to focus on our flaws and feelings of inadequacy and then exhaust ourselves trying to hide them.  God wants us to focus on His acceptance, security and significance.  We need to remember that God is well-pleased with us before we do anything… simply because we are His children.

God was there from the very beginning.  He spoke each one of us into our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13) at just the right time to be here now.  It was not by accident nor was it a surprise to God.  He designed each of us on purpose to be on a mission with Him… for such a time as this.  Our faith will grow stronger as we focus on our identity in Christ.

We have to stop believing what others have said or how we have been labeled in the past.  Stop accepting how others define us.

This is a concept that I have struggled with for some time.  Honestly, it is so much easier for me to believe the negative than the positive about myself.  My insecurities about myself started back in the first grade.  It took quite a while to break free from those lies.  In fact if I let my defenses down, the insecurities start to infiltrate my mind and try to take over even to this day.

By listening to others (instead of God) to frame our identity, we are building a wall that masks who we truly are.  This wall starts out innocently at first, with just a single comment.  However, if these bricks aren't taken down, the next comment will just sit on top of the last one.  This trend will continue until the world no longer is seeing the real you, but rather a façade you've created due to circumstances, other people’s viewpoints and opinions, and your own fears and insecurities.

Each of us has to come to the point where we make a conscious effort to replace those lies with God’s truth.  As Christians, we are now identified with Christ and have the power of the Holy Spirit within us.  With the empowering of the Holy Spirit and prayer, we can start taking down the wall that has been built by others… piece by piece… to pave the path to victory — our identity in Christ.

Take Out:

Spend some time looking up the following Scriptures and lay claim to each one of these identities God has spoken over you.

• Forgiven – Romans 3:24

• Set free – Romans 8:1-2

• Accepted – 1 Corinthians 1:2

• Holy – 1 Corinthians 1:30

• Made new – 2 Corinthians 5:17

• Loved – Ephesians 1:4

• Close – Ephesians 2:13

• Confident – Ephesians 3:12

• Victorious – Romans 8:37

Dessert:

Dear Heavenly Father, I come to You today asking for Your help.  I long to see myself as You see me.  Quiet the voices of the world, so that I can only hear from You.  I know that You have knit me together for a specific purpose.  Grant me the strength and courage to step out and let my true identity in You shine into the world.  In Your Precious Name, Amen.

© 2015 by Jamy Whitaker.  All rights reserved.

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