AN ETERNAL IDENTITY

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  03/01/23

Read Colossians 3:1-4. If you have been raised with Christ, the Lord wants to begin to change the source of your security and confidence. He wants to change your focus from the natural to the supernatural. For your life is hidden with God in Christ, and you must no longer find your identity in earthly things.

Jesus loves us so much that He died on the cross for us. He knows that if we find our identity in anything other than Him, our identity can be shaken. So He uses all possible means to transform our identity, and He is in the process of giving us an identity far more glorious than any other. Whatever He removes from you, He will replace with something far greater than you could ever hope for or imagine. And when you place your whole identity in Him, what was once shaken will stand strong and secure through life’s tests and trials.

As we walk with Jesus, He reveals who we really are through His Word, which is why it is so vital for us to be in His Word every day. There will be times of struggle—but take heart. The Lord has unending grace and compassion; He will lead you every step of the way.

Are you willing to let go of all the worldly things that define you? Only then can you rest fully in your identity as a child of God. Only then will the storms of life cease to shake you when you fall short—a misstep at work, a financial hit, a crisis in the home. As we mature in faith, God lovingly strips us of our idols—those fragile and fickle identities—so that we might find our worth and refuge in Him alone. He does for us what it is impossible for us to do ourselves: to trust and depend only upon Him, which is the work of the Spirit in our lives (see Ephesians 2:8).

Take some time to pray and ask God where your sense of security lies. Whatever it may be, may the grace of God lead you to exchange your earthly source of identity for true acceptance in Him, complete confidence in Him, and the glorious riches of His inheritance.

Prayer: Father, show me the worldly things in which I try to find my worth. I repent of my pride in these things and thank You for the new identity You have given me in Christ. May I boast only in my Savior. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).