We have an identity thief roaming among us. He is the enemy of our souls. From the moment we are conceived, his goal is to thwart God’s amazing plan for us. This identity thief wants to keep us from stepping into our true identity in Christ.
Don’t be discouraged. The Bible and the Holy Spirit give us all we need to see past the lies of the enemy and into our true identity.
In fact, the enemy tips his hand. The very places where he attacks us the hardest are the areas where God intends us to flourish.
For example, I have been walking in fear since the moment God placed me in my mother’s womb. What does scripture say about fear?
2 Timothy 1:7 tells us:
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (NKJV).
The very place where the enemy has attacked me the hardest shows me my identity. God created me to walk in power, love, and sound mind. He intends me to have authority in those areas so I can encourage others.
The enemy has also attacked me with a generational curse of death wish, premature death, and fear of death. Guess what my true identity is? I walk by the Spirit of Life who is the Holy Spirit. (Life is one of His characteristics!) I am to speak life in the situations God brings me into.
And where did He have me ministering all last summer? At the jail and the assisted living facility. Both are places where the enemy stirs up a spirit of death and people need to be reminded of God’s Spirit of Life.
God also has me serving in Healing Rooms, where I am called to pray and speak life for people who are wounded physically and emotionally. I can encourage people to “choose life” when words of death have been spoken over them, or when they have given up on life.
To step into my identity (which is a work in progress), I had to start recognizing and giving up those lies, so I could receive the truth of who God says I am. As I step into truth, I can move and pray with authority in my identity. No wonder the enemy tries so hard to shut us down in the very places where God would empower us.
Instead of giving into the lies of the enemy and lamenting the places where he attacks us so hard, we need to rejoice at our true identities that shine forth despite those attacks. We grow in authority, faith, and the strength of the Lord in the very areas where we are hardest hit. That is good news for us, and it’s even better news for the people God sends us out to help.
I’d like to share with you a wonderful free resource that will help you on the quest to finding your true identity in Christ. My friend Kerri Johnson at The Center for Inner Healing has written a series of articles on her blog regarding the quest for identity. These articles are thoughtful and interactive. They include prayer and journaling exercises and lots of encouragement. Each article is linked to the next one, so you can navigate through the whole series. What I love most about the way Kerri communicates is that she is so real. That’s exactly how she lives her life.
The identity quest begins here:
It’s time for all of us to move beyond the enemy’s lies and step into our true freedom in Christ. Let’s find out who God says we are.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” — 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NKJV)
Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”– John 8:32 (NKJV)
Adventures with God 