Have you ever felt “bad” about yourself? Have you ever been insecure about yourself? Some of the most loud, gregarious, and excitable people have some of the greatest insecurities. In fact, sometimes their outward “face” is simply masking their inward “frustrations.” Why? Because everyone at some point struggles with identity. I don’t care how successful a person is in life, everyone, and I mean everyone, struggles with insecurity. When we do, it can have brutal effects on the people who we love the most. Let’s realize who we are in Christ!
Think about your upbringing for a minute. Can you still hear something your father or mother said to you in adolescence that you just cannot get over? What I mean is that it weighs on you. Maybe you were told that you would never amount to anything! Maybe you were told that you were stupid! Maybe you were told that you were a nuisance or a burden? Maybe you were simply told something that has caused you to struggle over the years with your identity leading to insecurity.
THERE IS HOPE FOR YOU! Why? Because our identity is not defined by anyone other than Almighty God! God loves you with an everlasting love! There is no greater book of the Bible that explains this than Paul’s amazing letter to the church of Ephesus. Notice his amazing admonitions in chapter 1, verses 4-6: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” God chose you! Let that set in for a moment in your mind! You did NOT choose God; he lovingly, without any merit on your part, chose you. In fact, Jesus said that “no one can come to him unless the Father draws him first” (John 6:43-44). You and I could never be “good enough” to be “picked” by God, but on the other hand, you and I could never be “too bad” not to be picked by God. Paul goes on to say that God “predestined us for adoption.” Before you breathed your first breath, you were picked by God (if you know him as Savior) given all the rights and privileges of a son or daughter. In the ancient world, under Roman law, adopted children had the same rights and privileges as biological children, even if they had previously been slaves. Paul uses this term to show how strong our relationship with God is.
Take a couple of minutes before you read any further in the devotional and look up and read Galatians 4:5-7 and Romans 8:15-17. I trust that you read those verses. Now, what’s a common Aramaic word used in both passages when speaking of how to address God? Here’s a hint: I recently spoke on this subject and word. The point is that God loves you beyond anyone else’s opinion of you...even your own family’s opinion. By the way, he has an amazing purpose for your life!
When I was a kid, I struggled in school until I didn’t. You might wonder what in the world am I trying to say? What I am trying to say is that something happened that changed my struggle to strength. I had just taken my final exam in my history class in my 7th grade year. At that point, I was a “C student” at best, but what happened next changed my life forever. My history teacher grabbed me before I left class and proceeded to tell me how proud of me, he was, and how I had done such a great job on that final exam. My exam grade was a B-, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that he believed in me. It shaped my motivation, confidence, and identity...that single moment. I went on to graduate salutatorian in high school and with high honors in college. What happened? I started realizing what was “inside of me,” and what “I was capable of achieving.” He inspired and encouraged me.
The only difference in my story and in God’s grace to me is that we aren’t capable of doing anything apart from him. The point of my story is that I had a teacher who loved me at a high level, and he saw more in me than I saw in myself. That’s our loving God! YOUR IDENTITY IS IN WHAT HE THINKS OF YOU! YOUR IDENTITY IS IN WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT YOU! YOUR IDENTITY IS IN WHAT HE HAS PLANNED FOR YOU!
No matter what you have experienced from people in the past, the creator of the universe chose you to be his son or daughter! THAT, AND NOTHING ELSE, IS MY IDENTITY! Wow! Thank You Jesus!
Think about your upbringing for a minute. Can you still hear something your father or mother said to you in adolescence that you just cannot get over? What I mean is that it weighs on you. Maybe you were told that you would never amount to anything! Maybe you were told that you were stupid! Maybe you were told that you were a nuisance or a burden? Maybe you were simply told something that has caused you to struggle over the years with your identity leading to insecurity.
THERE IS HOPE FOR YOU! Why? Because our identity is not defined by anyone other than Almighty God! God loves you with an everlasting love! There is no greater book of the Bible that explains this than Paul’s amazing letter to the church of Ephesus. Notice his amazing admonitions in chapter 1, verses 4-6: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” God chose you! Let that set in for a moment in your mind! You did NOT choose God; he lovingly, without any merit on your part, chose you. In fact, Jesus said that “no one can come to him unless the Father draws him first” (John 6:43-44). You and I could never be “good enough” to be “picked” by God, but on the other hand, you and I could never be “too bad” not to be picked by God. Paul goes on to say that God “predestined us for adoption.” Before you breathed your first breath, you were picked by God (if you know him as Savior) given all the rights and privileges of a son or daughter. In the ancient world, under Roman law, adopted children had the same rights and privileges as biological children, even if they had previously been slaves. Paul uses this term to show how strong our relationship with God is.
Take a couple of minutes before you read any further in the devotional and look up and read Galatians 4:5-7 and Romans 8:15-17. I trust that you read those verses. Now, what’s a common Aramaic word used in both passages when speaking of how to address God? Here’s a hint: I recently spoke on this subject and word. The point is that God loves you beyond anyone else’s opinion of you...even your own family’s opinion. By the way, he has an amazing purpose for your life!
When I was a kid, I struggled in school until I didn’t. You might wonder what in the world am I trying to say? What I am trying to say is that something happened that changed my struggle to strength. I had just taken my final exam in my history class in my 7th grade year. At that point, I was a “C student” at best, but what happened next changed my life forever. My history teacher grabbed me before I left class and proceeded to tell me how proud of me, he was, and how I had done such a great job on that final exam. My exam grade was a B-, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that he believed in me. It shaped my motivation, confidence, and identity...that single moment. I went on to graduate salutatorian in high school and with high honors in college. What happened? I started realizing what was “inside of me,” and what “I was capable of achieving.” He inspired and encouraged me.
The only difference in my story and in God’s grace to me is that we aren’t capable of doing anything apart from him. The point of my story is that I had a teacher who loved me at a high level, and he saw more in me than I saw in myself. That’s our loving God! YOUR IDENTITY IS IN WHAT HE THINKS OF YOU! YOUR IDENTITY IS IN WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT YOU! YOUR IDENTITY IS IN WHAT HE HAS PLANNED FOR YOU!
No matter what you have experienced from people in the past, the creator of the universe chose you to be his son or daughter! THAT, AND NOTHING ELSE, IS MY IDENTITY! Wow! Thank You Jesus!