Who Do You Want To Be?
Verse of the Day
‘So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.’
Today’s Devotional
Can you think back to when you wanted to learn to drive? You were probably getting close to the age when you could get your driver’s license and you wanted the freedom and independence of being able to go places without being driven by your parents or friends. Do you remember the draw and appeal of the freedom that awaited you?
However, there were steps you had to go through in order to achieve your goal. There was some reading and studying. There was practice. Then more practice. There was frustration, especially with learning to parallel park. There were probably some mistakes made along the way. There was maybe some fear, though you probably did not admit that. There was quite a lot of effort involved in becoming a proficient, safe driver.
I propose to you today that this same process applies to us as we learn to accept and live out our God-given identity. There is freedom and joy available to each of us. But to get there, we need to go through the process. This world tells us, every single day, things that are contrary to everything we have been studying for the last few weeks. If we want to fully accept and believe the things God says are true about us, we have to do the work of tearing down the lies we have unwittingly believed and learn the truth. This process will take reading, studying, practice, frustration, mistakes, courage, and more practice. And prayer. Lots of prayer.
So the question is…who do you want to be? Do you want to be the person that God says you already are? Do you want to live a life that is aligned with who God says you are?
Sometimes when we see one piece of evidence, we are not convinced. We have been looking at one piece of evidence each day for the last few weeks. But what happens when we look at the whole body of evidence all together? For me, it becomes much more compelling. With this in mind, I have tried to pull it all together in one place. And I will be the first to admit that this list is not exhaustive. I have created an additional page on this site to show us all who God says we are, what God does for us, what God gives us, and what our responsibility is. (Click the link below.)
If that list describes the person you want to be, but yet you don’t fully embrace and accept that identity, then it’s time to get to work. As I read over that list, I clearly have work to do. We started this journey together with my confession of the lie that I have unknowingly believed: “I am not enough and I never will be.” I still struggle with insecurity, fear, and self-doubt. That means I have work to do to lean into the truth that God has spoken over me. I know enough about spiritual growth to know that if I am to surrender to God and who He says I am, that there is action required of me. Today’s picture (above) shows one of the things I am doing to accept my identity. I am writing the verses on notecards and meditating on them. God says I am enough, and this is my way of participating in who God says I am.
I long for each of us to fully believe, embrace, and live the truth that God declares over us. In order to do that, we have work to do. But it all depends on how we want to live on this planet and if we are willing to fight for our hearts to believe God’s truth. So…who do you want to be?
(For a printable version of “My Identity in Christ”, click here)
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What parts of your God-given identity are the hardest for you to accept?
What work can you do today to believe what God says is true about you?
Who do you want to be? How can you work to align that with what God says about you?