Maintaining our identity in Christ isn’t always easy. We can lose ourselves in our careers, our friend groups, our families. It’s easy to start looking at ourselves primarily as a spouse, a parent, or whatever job we have. We can lose ourselves in the car we drive, the house we own, or even tv and social media.
None of those things is our primary identity. It never has been. But it can creep into first place if we let it.
Having diabetes for three decades now, I know it can be easy to lose my identity as someone who has a chronic illness. We call ourselves “diabetics” as though it’s our identity. (It’s not.) With type 1, I’m an insulin pump wearer, or an insulin injector, and a carb counter. It’s all day every day. It can feel consuming, and those things can describe us, but it’s still not our identity.
Losing our Identity in Christ
What happens when we lose our identity in Christ? (Maybe I should say “forget” our identity in Christ – because it’s never actually lost per se. We just replace it in our minds, knowingly or unknowingly, until we are reminded and brought back to center to focus on our actual identity.)
For people with diabetes, for example, we can start to dwell on the day-to-day of diabetes. The negatives start to outweigh the positives, and we can face burnout. I have blogged about this in the past, and how to avoid or overcome it:
- Three Ways to Avoid Diabetes Burnout
- How to Deal with the Ever-Changing Nature of Diabetes
- How to Look at Life with Diabetes Differently
I also wrote about this in my book, Devotions on Diabetes: A 30-Day Journey to Anchor Your Soul. It’s the devotion for Day 14, and I called it “Identity.” Here’s an excerpt:
Your diagnosis is not your identity. Read that again. And you are not a diabetic. You are a child of God who is living with diabetes. Do you see the difference? It’s subtle, but it’s an important distinction.
So what is your identity? God created it when He created you, before you were ever born. He designed you on purpose and for a purpose, in His image, and dearly loved. Not one shred of God’s design or love for you changed when you received your diagnosis. Not one. He made you, and you are His. Your identity remains the same, diabetes or not, as a precious and treasured child of God.
– Day 14, Devotions on Diabetes: A 30-Day Journey to Anchor Your Soul
HOW TO RECLAIM OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST
Once we realize we are focusing our attention on the “other identities” we have, we can start to refocus on our true identity in Christ.
My best recommendation is to take it straight from the source – your Creator Himself. So jump into God’s word and see what it says. It honestly takes the renewing of your mind to reclaim your identity in Christ.
The apostle Paul addressed this in the book of Romans. He knew that the things of this world would come calling. He knew our human flesh would have a tendency to fail. He knew it would take intentionality to remain focused on Christ.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2
And how do we renew our minds? By refocusing on the truth, and the truth is in God’s word.
A FREE BIBLE READING PLAN
So for the next 14 days, let’s dig into our true identity as prescribed by our Creator God. Let’s look at creation, a Psalm of David, and a whole lot of the letters penned by the Apostle Paul.
Reading these verses over the next two weeks can refresh your mind and soul, and remind you of the truths and promises of God. Don’t buy into what this world is selling. Reclaim your true identity in Christ today.
A BLESSING AS YOU BEGIN
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9
GET YOUR FREE BIBLE READING PLAN
TO RECLAIM YOUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST
PIN FOR LATER
MORE BIBLE READING PLANS
