Any time you are overwhelmed by a situation, or emotions get triggered, journaling is a great way to get all of those thoughts out of your head so you can process them more clearly. When we allow negative thoughts to swirl around in our heads, a bad experience can feel exponentially worse than it really is. Just the act of writing it all down often helps us put things in a better perspective.
As a young girl, there were times I didn’t feel beautiful at all. In fact, when I was 12 years old I went and hid under the dining room table and just cried one night. I didn’t think anyone liked me. I thought I was ugly.
My mom came over to comfort me and shared this verse:
“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”
– Proverbs 31:30
Do you know that many of us suffer from a case of mistaken identity? We don’t often consider what we think defines us. But think consider what you think really defines you for a moment. For many of us, our identity is rooted in our upbringing, what people have said about us, our accomplishments, our failures, our financial status, and the events and experiences we have been through.
For a long time my identity was tangled up in the events of my life and the strategies I had developed to cope with what I had been through. My parents divorced when I was 11. As the oldest of five kids I decided it was my responsibility to help my mom. Since we struggled financially, I also decided I had to start earning money right away, and work toward a career that would allow me to be financially stable and independent. The words that I thought described me were damaged, abandoned, insecure, struggling, survivor, responsible, independent, among others.
For the most part, what we think of ourselves tends to define what we allow and won’t allow in our lives, for better or worse. When we think we are broken and damaged we are more likely to allow people to take advantage of us, and to be tempted to do things that are self-destructive. If we’ve been abused, we are more likely to allow others to abuse us. And if we’ve struggled financially, we may continue to struggle or go to the other extreme and make money a high priority in life at the expense of our own well-being and our relationships. Regardless, when our identity is defined by the world instead of what God says about us, we miss out on all that God has planned for us. We miss out on the joy, the love, the fulfillment and security that are available when we have our hope in Christ.
Have you take a look at the Bible to see what God says about you? It is truly amazing! Here are just a few things God says about you:
You were created in the image of God. –Genesis 1:27
You are fearfully and wonderfully made. –Psalm 139:13
God loves you so much that He sent His only Son to pay the price for your sins. –John 3:16
You are a new creation in Christ – the old is gone and the new is here! –2 Corinthians 5:17
You are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for you to do. –Ephesians 2:10
You are a joint heir with Christ. –Romans 8:17
You are more than a conqueror in Christ. –Romans 8:37
You are a partaker of God’s divine nature. –2 Peter 1:3-4
You are an ambassador for Christ. –2 Corinthians 5:20
You are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people. –1 Peter 2:9
You are the light of the world. –Matthew 5:14
You have a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. –2 Timothy 1:7
This is your identity in Christ when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. The problem for even those who have accepted Christ is that many haven’t taken on their new identity. We have to learn who we are by reading the Bible and then walk out our lives in this new self.
So how do you walk in that identity? Let me share with you how the Holy Spirit showed this to me.
I was getting ready for work one Monday morning reflecting on my identity. And it occurred to me that over the last year, I have taken on a new identity at work since I was promoted to a more senior level. I noticed that something new was welling up in me. It wasn’t pride, but a sense of responsibility and confidence. It was as if I now had permission to access something in me that had been dormant. Maybe it was being prepared. Baking, so to speak. Growing, like an embryo in the womb. And being promoted was the shot of hormones needed to birth this part of me I hadn’t expressed before – at least not fully. Other leaders in the company also noticed it and even commented that I was contributing at a new level.
We’ve all had experiences like this … when we get married, we take on the identity of wife; when we have a child, the mother in us emerges; when we land a particular job, it becomes a significant part of who we are.
We simply need to take the time to understand what it really means to belong to Christ and have Christ in us. It’s permission to walk in forgiveness and grace, and put condemnation in the past. It’s the strength we need to overcome challenges because the source of that strength is Jesus. It’s access to wisdom we didn’t know we could have through the Holy Spirit. And it’s a responsibility to represent our Savior well and honor all He has done for us.
Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, our Provider and Protector, the source of all our gifts, of all we need today and all we will ever need. When the rest of the world is falling apart, Jesus is the One we can always count on to be our Rock. And he came that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10)!
So claim this identity in Christ for yourself.
It will take replacing the old beliefs with what God says about you. Pray the verses above over yourself repeatedly ever day until they take root in your heart. Ask God in prayer to help you replace the lies with His truth about who you are. It may take some time. Be persistent until you experience a knowing deep down in your heart. Then keep going! Allow God’s Word to work in you. It will, if you don’t give up.
I can tell you from experience, you’ll have a whole new sense of peace, joy, and security that can only come from finding our identity in Christ.
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” – Matthew 18:20
No matter how fortunate you are or how much you have in terms of money, resources, friends or opportunities, life is a mix of bright and beautiful along with dark and hard. That’s true for all of us, but for some it seems there is a lot more dark and hard. Still, there are those who seem to be filled with joy and hope no matter how hopeless their circumstances look to observers and friends. What is it that makes those people so joyful?
That’s how Rivka became in the CRU Ministries study by the same name. She went from cynical and hopeless to joyful and filled with hope for her own life and even more for others. What made the difference was coming to know Jesus Christ and accepting him as her Lord and Savior. Her joy was so great that she was committed to sharing it with anyone who would listen. And if they wouldn’t listen to her words, she would share her hope and joy through the way she loved them, helping others see and experience what Jesus taught through his words and example.
By the end of the Rivka study, the women who participated were imitating what they saw in her. These ladies are now going to one another offering to pray with one another. They are exploring the scriptures and learning together. They offer each other support. The night we celebrated the completion of the study, even women who did not participate were excited about the opportunity to pray at the same time together every night. These women became true “sisters in Christ,” loving one another while they are all in a hard situation. One woman said, “I know these women care about me personally. They helped me through a lot. It feels like family.” Another woman said, “When we all come together, miracles happen.”
One of the reasons for the deep connection, love and support is that these women are in community with one another. Accepting Jesus is an important step. Once we do, it is so important for all of us to have a faith-filled community around us with whom we can learn, share experiences, and pray. Community provides accountability, support for those days that are just a bit harder, an opportunity to serve others, and a reminder that we are loved, valuable and important to God.
Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us “... let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
God is three persons in one. He is inherently in community and He created us in His image to also be in community with one another and with Christ at the center. If you are struggling in your faith or see someone who is, gather together. Pray. Study God’s Word together. And share Christ’s love through the ways you serve one another. This is how we bring light and beauty to a dark, hard place.
Then watch miracles happen!
Women are valuable to God, yet sadly many women feel less than, marginalized and insignificant. Women who have endured difficulties in their lives are vulnerable to the lies that our enemy, the devil, want us to believe. And those lies are only reinforced by people who let us down or treat us poorly.
Rejection, divorce, abuse, abandonment, tragedy, and the judgment of others can cause anyone to question her own value.
Ladies of Grace recently taught the study Magdalena: Through Her Eyes, created by CRU Ministries, on the inside. We wanted the women to see how valuable women – and they – are to Jesus. The study includes a video depicting Jesus’ interaction with several women during his earthly ministry.
We got to see how Jesus helped Mary Magdalene become free from demon possession when all others shunned her out of fear and disgust (Luke 8:1-3). He called her a daughter of Abraham and her gratitude motivated her to follow Jesus for the rest of her days.
We got to be witnesses to the love Jesus expressed to the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob (John 4:5-42). This woman was not only rejected by the Jews, but hated by her own people. Yet she was the one Jesus chose to reveal his identity of Messiah to, and she was the one who led her people to Jesus.
We got to see Jesus extend great mercy to a woman caught in adultery when the men were ready to stone her (John 8:1-11). Jesus showed her love, forgave her and restored her dignity.
At the end of our study time, the women shared what they got out of the movie and our weekly discussions.
Here are just a few of the wonderful realizations from the women who participated:
My addiction was my identity but now Jesus looks at me as clean and pure, just like Mary Magdalene.
Mary Magdalene’s dedication to Jesus after he drove out the demons was the most impressive. There was no fake loyalty. After coming out of my addiction I strive to follow Jesus every day.
Who are we to do the selfish things that feed our flesh? If we would just stay focused on what Jesus did for us, we would all be better. If just one person turned from darkness to light, many could turn to Jesus. That’s what we are here for. We need to do things for Him, not things that are worthless.
I’ve been excellent at being a bad role model. Loyalty is a big deal and you think others are being loyal to you when you are in your addiction. All of the women we studied were struggling, but Jesus was there for them. His word is true and what he says he will do, HE WILL DO! That is true loyalty!
I love the way he spoke to the woman caught in adultery with such tenderness and love.
Through Jesus we have hope. He didn’t bring us here to harm us, he gave us hope!
I’m new to believing in God. I saw myself in all of those ladies in the video. To see Jesus walk up to each one gives me hope that he is real and that he cares.
The fact is that God created man and woman in His image (Genesis 1:27). He loves everyone of us and relentlessly pursues us because He doesn’t want any one of us to be lost.
We praise God for the impact this study has had on the women on the inside!
Please pray with us that the seeds that have been planted in the hearts of all who participated will continue to grow and flourish.
