Identity Crisis: You Are So Much More than You Think

The struggle is real. Our identity is so important to us, but it’s hard to capture our true self in a world constantly telling us who we should be.

Rather than who we are in Christ, we let the mirror be our judge, or our circumstances, or the scale. When we were kids we found our identity in how others treated us, our grades, or whether or not our daddy told us we were pretty.

But as an adult . . .

• Hollywood tells me what I should look like.
• Culture tells me I should’ve been a CEO rather than a stay-at-home mom.
• And if that weren’t enough, the enemy of my heart places the most negative thoughts in my head. He wants me to keep focused on ME, because he knows if I’m focused on my problems and failings, I’ll not claim my identity as a believer in Christ.

But to find our identity, we need to go backwards. Sometimes we have to know who we aren’t in order to know who we are.

Identity: Who We Aren’t

Isn’t it funny how what we do is how we identify ourselves?

Yet, what we do simply is that- what we do. It’s not who we be. (I know that’s not grammatically correct, but stay with me here.) We get so focus on the doing that we forget about the being. 

Our identity is not found in . . .

• Marriage, singleness, or having children
• Talents and passions.
• Age.
• Body image.

The world looks for identity in all of the things I’ve mentioned above, and not all those are bad. Our passions and talents do form and shape us, but the problem with finding our identity in any of these things is that they are temporary.

Identity Change

I’ll never forget the day we sold our mini-van.

It was the weirdest thing.

I couldn’t wait to get rid of it, the mom-van decorated with college bumper stickers. But when the day finally came, I felt a deep sadness creep into my soul.

Selling that ugly van closed the end of an era of our family. Gone were the days of cross-country road trips with cheerios, Veggie-Tales, crying babies, and desperate pit-stops during potty-training. (Hallelujah!) Yes, gone were those days.

As I mourned the days I once couldn’t wait to pass, I felt a piece of my identity fade away, but it hadn’t. It simply changed. Actually, I would like to think I’m adding onto the pieces of the puzzle of me.

Insecurities in the Seasons of Change

All my insecurities did not go out the window once I graduated middle school.

It’s a battle I fight daily, but when I put my security in my abilities, or looks, or success, or season in life, my identity will waver.

My security and insecurity both balance on the pinnacle of who I believe I am unless I base my identity on someone constant. In His wisdom, God allows our insecurities so we will seek Him. The rock. The best foundation to build our identity.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we often feel insecure. Those who hide it best often feel it most. But our insecurity is an invitation from God to escape the danger of false beliefs about who we are and find true peace in who he is. Desiring God 

This makes me think of Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” The word “delight” has been translated from a Hebrew word whose root means to be soft or pliable. Delighting in the Lord, making Him our joy does change our hearts and that changes us.

Identity: Made in the Image of God

The Bible tells us in Genesis 1 that God made man in His image. Can we fathom how beautiful and perfect Adam and Eve were before they chose not to trust God? There was no shame or fear in the presence of God. He walked with them in the garden.

I believe deep inside us that seed is still there.

The image of God is still deep inside us, and the blood of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit who now dwells in believers, work to re-birth us into that image, to grow that seed.

“Christian selfhood is not defined in terms of who we are in and of ourselves. It’s defined in terms of what God does to us and the relationship he creates with us and the destiny he appoints for us. God made us who we are so we could make known who he is. Our identity is for the sake of making known his identity.” Desiring God

1. What God does to us: Forgives us, Frees us, Adopts us
2. The relationship he creates with us: Children of God, Brothers and Sisters with Christ
3. The destiny he appoints for us: Destined to be like Christ, heirs of the Kingdom of God, royal priests.

The danger of  finding our identity in anything of this temporary world is just that. It is temporary. Beauty fades. Children grow up. Loved ones die. We grow old and retire. Life brings change constantly, but there is One who is constant.

Do you struggle with your identity and stinkin thinkin? Take these verses to heart. Write them out on note cards and put them all over your house, car, work, wherever you need to remember who you are. Pray about them and ask God to help you understand their reality.

Bite of Bread Reading Plan

 

 

Scriptures, Prompts, and Printable Available 

1 Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

• What does this verse tell us our purpose is? Write down your testimony.

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.

• What does this verse tell you, you are? Close your eyes and envision climbing on God’s lap. Just sit there for a bit and wait to hear what he wants to tell you. Write it down.

Galatians 5:1: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

• What laws have you put on yourself?

1 Corinthians 6: 19,20: Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

• Being a new creation in Christ is being a human filled with Holy Spirit. What would you do differently with this mindset of the Holy Spirit always in you? Write a prayer about this.

1 John 3:2: Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

• Pray for eternal vision for a glimpse of what we will be. Write it down. How does this affect the way we live today?

Get the Printable!

Colossians 2: 9-10:  For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.

• You lack nothing in Christ, and we have His fullness because of Holy Spirit. What do you feel you lack? Write it down and write a prayer asking for God to show you what stronghold, bitter root, or unbelief is keeping you from walking in that fullness. (I see the fullness as the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.)

Genesis 1: 27: So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 

• God created both male and female in His image. Write down a list of His characteristics, and what that means about you.

Don’t forget the printable for this week. 

Join Our Daily Fellowship

Every morning a whole bunch of us jump on-line and gather together via Facebook to pray, laugh, dig into God’s word, and be encouraged. Just friend or follow me on Facebook and join me at 8:20 ET. The videos can also be found on You Tube, if you need to watch at a later time.

I’m praying for you! I’m praying you experience the breath of God as you incorporate His words into your prayers. Don’t forget the printable! 

 

Digging Deep in Identity,

Andy

P.S. If you found this post encouraging, and you don’t want to miss any Bite of Bread reading plans and posts, subscribe today! You’ll receive a 22-Day Devotion on Psalm 119 called Finding the Beauty {Full} in God’s Word.Just click here to dig deep to live fully.