You Are Who He Says You Are (a free printable)
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I DON’T HAVE THIS DOWN.
Hear me out. I still struggle to understand every single day that my identity is God given, not self or others given. Let me explain:
I am a wife,
a co-church planter,
a dog owner,
a mentor to women,
a worship leader,
a daughter to wonderful parents,
a sister,
an aunt,
a teacher of God’s Word,
a writer,
a runner,
a latina,
a college graduate,
a Houstonian,
a friend,
and the list goes on…
But these are all titles that either I’ve given myself or have been given by others.
However only my Creator can give me my identity. Not a title. Because I’ve come to find that a title can be given or taken away, gained or lost. But a God given identity never changes and is eternally fulfilling.
If we aren’t careful, we could spend our whole lives searching everywhere for the next fulfilling title, trying to satisfy our desire to be identified with something or by someone else.
all photography by carolyn marie photography
1: God tells you who you are - not anyone/anything else
God spoke over and affirmed the people in the Bible as to who He had called them to be. The fact that they were His and He called them out-weighted their other titles: “jew, gentile, slave, free, man, woman, greek, Hebrew”. [Gal. 3:28-29]
Even James, Paul, Peter and other New Testament writers open their letters to churches with a description of themselves, identifying themselves as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ and nothing else. Paul never opened a letter proclaiming “most studious religious leader”. James didn’t say “listen to me, I’m a brother of Jesus”,
No family name, no status, no education, no tradition, no income level defines you, God does. We have been made in his image. Not in the image of this world.
Remember, identity doesn’t come from what others may say or fail to say about you, our identity comes from God!
2: We know exactly what God says about us if we know Him & His Word
God has given us His word to know and understand Him more. He’s also given us His word to show us who we are in Him as believers.
Get to know the one who made you and you’ll get to know exactly who He has made you to be! Dig into scripture and pray He continues to reveal this to you.
A PDF of Bible verses is down below, be sure you grab a copy to have as a reminder of who you are in God! Read it constantly. Know your true identity
Here’s the deal: Without a proper understanding of who God is, you will ALWAYS try to find your identity in other things. The greater we know and understand God, the more we can know who we are in Him. Creation was meant to deeply know, love, and serve it’s Creator. And our Creator has already spoken our identity over us, Jesus died for it and it’s ours and we must know it and take hold of it daily.
“A growing sense of identity as a citizen of heaven changes how you see yourself now.”
3: You have an identity now that no one or nothing can take away.
I have struggled for TOO long with jobs or career opportunities to be what defines me. It’s been drilled in my head, you are what you do. Society pressures us to hustle for those prestigious titles or lifestyles. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT DEFINES ME. (I’m yelling for my own sake, not at you. Promise.) I share that because anytime I’ve had to transition out of a job or started a new endeavor, I quickly begin identifying myself with it and when it’s over, when it’s gone, when it’s take away, I slump right back into an identity crisis.
When we lose any false identity WE place on ourselves, our disappointment makes us sick and the distraught can leave some paralyzed, turning to other things to cope with the pain, instead of our Creator who has already spoken it over us.
In Romans 8 Paul states that he is convinced that nothing can separate us from the love of God. We are forever loved by Him, identified by Him and forever His.
I don’t know about you, but for me, when I’m doubting my identity I begin to listen to the enemies lies and get so tangled in his schemes. I begin to be persuaded that maybe I did mess up to much, perhaps I finally did “blow it”.
I have to fight through all of that and be reminded of who I am in Christ.
Every day we have an enemy trying to convince us that we aren’t who God says we are and that God is not good. And yes, the evil one indeed has been defeated, but as my dear friend put it.…
“The battle’s been won but the daily victories you have to fight for.”
Back in 2014, when my husband and I were first called to church planting, I freaked. I was already losing it about being identified by others as a pastor’s wife. I vented to my husband, pleading:
“but I don’t know how to be a pastor’s wife… I’m only 24 years old.. I can barely adult correctly.”
To which my husband, with zero hesitation and ease said:
“Crystal, just be who God has already called you to be: a disciple of His and a good and faithful servant
and you will automatically be a good pastor’s wife.”
That statement continues to pull me out of my deepest struggles of false identities, overwhelming expectations of others, people pleasing, fear of man, you name it! It’s true of you, too, friend!
You are a child of the most high! A disciple of Jesus. A good and faithful servant of God.
And a good and faithful servant of God is a good and faithful spouse.
A good and faithful servant of God is a good and faithful mom.
A good and faithful servant of God is a good and faithful wife.
A good and faithful servant of God is a good and faithful employee.
A good and faithful servant of God is a good and faithful neighbor, friend, sister, etc.
You get the point.
What are some of the “false” identities that people around you cling to?
What are other ways to be grounded in your identity when doubt creeps in?
As always, if this has encouraged you, would you consider sharing it with a friend. Simply click the bottom right arrow to share. Thanks for reading!
Crystal
