The Shocking Truth About Your Identity

One day, I woke up and did not know who I was any more.  For as long as I could remember, I’d worked hard to be an excellent teacher, a committed youth worker, and a beloved friend.  I poured my whole life into these roles, and my whole identity was wrapped up in my skewed perspective of what made me important.

But then, God allowed me to experience a crisis of identity. My world came crashing down with disappointment and failure. A close friendship ended badly. I realized I was burned out from juggling too many from ministry commitments. I struggled to maintain composure in front of my students. My spirit was weary, and I felt adrift in a sea of doubt.  

Negative thinking consumed me.  I felt

Rejected,

Betrayed,

Defeated. 

How would I move forward when everything I loved about me was gone?  

In the days that followed, I made one crucial decision that saved me. Rather than sit at home and cry all weekend, I decided to join a friend at a Bible study. This began my journey to discovering the shocking truth about my identity. I realized that I needed God to re-shape my thinking. I prayed that night and asked Him to help me move forward. 

I spent many quiet moments with my God that year.  I learned to sit quietly at His feet. I prayed and worshipped and rested. I stopped doing, and I began to discover “being.”  

You see, God doesn’t define me by all the things I do for Him. 

No matter what happens tomorrow, I am forever His own.  In Christ, I am

• Chosen
  
  “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him…”(Ephesians 1:4).
  
  
• Justified
  
  “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 3:23-24).
  
  
• Free from condemnation
  
  “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
  
  
• More than a conqueror
  
  “ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
  
  
• Redeemed
  
  “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…” (Ephesians 1:7).
  
  
• Complete
  
  “and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:10).
  
  
• Accepted
  
  “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7).
  
  
• Reconciled
  
  “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (II Corinthians 5:18-19).
  
  

Who I am in Christ will never change no matter what my future holds.  My unchanging God will never leave me nor forsake me.  I am His forever.

About Lyli

Lyli Dunbar loves teaching.  For 17 years, she mentored teenagers in the Christian school setting, and now she has serves as Associate Director of Curriculum at Trinity International University Florida. Lyli married her Prince Charming in her 40’s and has a heart for encouraging young couples and singles in God’s waiting room.  She enjoys road trips with her husband, connecting with women through Bible study, and reading way too many books. Lyli writes about life lessons and faith on herpersonal blog. You may also connect with her on Facebook,Twitter, and Pinterest.

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