One of the things that can lead to a skewed picture of who we are is what other people say about us. But the truth is that people's opinions of us are only as powerful as we allow them to be. When we are overly concerned about how people perceive us, we are actually allowing ourselves to be controlled by them. I recently heard a pastor friend of mine say that "insecurities are wrong securities exposed" (Pastor Jason Seaman). That concept, when fully understood, can really change how we live. True security has a singular source and that source is God Himself. God alone has the power to tell us who we really are and what we are worth. Take a moment and consider who God says we are in Him. "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago" (Ephesians 2:10) God's masterpiece! God is our Creator; He is the master artist who wove us together before the foundation of the earth and gave us a purpose. Sounds pretty amazing to me! "See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1a) Not only are we created by God, but we are loved by Him! We are children of the perfect Father! God's love far exceeds any other love we have ever known. In fact, God even says that He delights in us! "He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." (Zephaniah 3:17b) That is who God says we are...His masterpiece, adopted and loved by Him and created for a special purpose!
Another identity error is found in viewing ourselves through our past. Whether we focus on successes or failures, what we have done does not determine who we are. If we are counting our successes and leaning on that as our identity, then we have forgotten that our works apart from Christ are nothing. "For apart from Me you can do nothing" (John15:5b) More often than not though, we end up viewing ourselves through our failures. But the reality is, as children of God, God does not see us through the lens of our failures. We are completely forgiven. "He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west." (Psalm 103:12) But more than that, we have been given the righteousness of Christ. "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21) We may keep a record of our failures, but God does not and when we choose to wallow in our sins we are pretty much saying that what Jesus did on the cross for us is not sufficient. Focusing on our failures also holds us back from gaining the victory over sin that Jesus provided for us to walk in. God's grace and forgiveness is intended to give us freedom, not freedom to sin, but freedom to be who we are in Him. "He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of the Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding" (Ephesians 1:7-8)
When we embrace our true identity in Christ, our lives will be characterized by real freedom, true joy and consistent victory! Freedom because we know who we were created to be, joy because we know Who we belong to and victory because we know where our power comes from! And that is the life God intended for us to live!
