Identity in Christ

Have you felt that life happens to you rather than the other way around? You look at people doing things, getting excited, planning and making things happen while you are stuck in a rut.

A passive life can feel like a road with a dead end. You feel like you have no worth, no value. When you see the lives of others you feel that you are wasting your life and not able to do anything about changing it.

You feel depressed, lonely, ashamed, unwanted, inferior, inadequate, helpless and incapable of making a difference. You unconsciously feel hurt and are affected by what others speak as you think they look down on you. Everything seems to unravel and fall down. You can’t see the way forward.

If this sounds like your life, there is good news for you. You can get out of the rut. You can change your life. You can change and become a positive and strong person. You have the power to change! It is available to you for the asking. Isn’t that wonderful?

I remember being in that place many years ago. Things were so bad that I felt it was meaningless to live and felt like giving up. At that time I didn’t know Jesus as my personal Savior. Knowing Jesus personally brought a revolution in my whole way of experiencing life.

Getting to know Jesus better gave me a clear sense of identity. I could tap into His power whenever I needed help through the power of His Word. I didn’t have to do anything alone, He was there ever ready to help at any time night or day!

There is a solution!

Life is difficult for everyone. But life can be extremely hard if you have no support, no friend to say a kind word or show a gesture of love. Jesus knows this deep pain of being rejected and unloved. While He was carrying His Cross up the hill of Calvary, He was humiliated and rejected by everyone, including His very own disciples whom He loved.

Nobody could understand the depth of His pain as He cried out to His Father while He was on the Cross. Mark 15:34 says “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?—which means, My God, My God,  why have You forsaken Me [deserting Me and leaving Me helpless and abandoned]?” 

Who could understand our pain and suffering better than Jesus Himself? Knowing When we ask Jesus into our lives, He gives us joy, peace and strength. He gives us the strength to do everything we need to do.   

Philippians 4:13 says, “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” 

The Word of God gives those with failing hearts courage. God speaks through His Word assuring us His help. Perhaps we have been trying different things but nothing is working out. 2 Corinthians 4:16 reassures us saying, “Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day after day.”

Yes, these difficult times too can serve a purpose in our lives. They teach us the value of patience and perseverance. They build us and make us stronger on the inside. Being strong on the inside is valuable. Imagine a man or woman who looks physically strong but when a challenge is thrown before them, they suddenly become weak and helpless. What use is outer strength if the inner person within is not strong?

Know your identity

We need to learn that our identity is not based on the things we have or don’t have, titles, how we look or how much wealth we have. All these things can be lost in a moment! The things we have can be stolen or destroyed, the titles we take pride in could be given to someone else, we can grow old and lose our good looks, we could have one bad deal and lose our wealth too.

Relationships can break down at any time, people we know can turn and go away too. If we lose everything we take pride in, then who are we? Ask yourself, “Who would I be if I lose everything that has value to me?”

God created us. Our real and true identity is based on God Who made us. That same God, the Creator, sent His only Son to die for us on the Cross. John 3:16 says, “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ( unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.”

God paid the ultimately price so that we could become His very own. He gave up His only most beloved Son Jesus for our sake so we would know His love for us. Jesus gave up His throne in Heaven and came down to earth to live as a mere mortal man, know pain and suffering and be put to death so that we could be saved.

That is the price that God paid for us to be His again! If the life of Jesus was ‘priceless’ imagine what it means that He gave up His priceless life so that you could be saved! You are priceless, did you know that?

Don’t give up

Perhaps you are tired of doing the right thing and feeling like it is not helping you at all. Galatians 6:9 tells us, “Let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.” 

Psalms 29:11 also promises us, “The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.” Don’t worry, you will get through this difficult time.Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).”

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.” Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Don’t depend on human wisdom but cry out to God to show you the way forward. He will give you the best solution for your situation.

Don’t worry

Don’t let worry consume you. In Matthew 6:25 Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?”

In Matthew 6:27 He asks, “And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?”

In difficult times we may feel tempted to start drinking alcohol, taking drugs or do things to keep our mind away from our problems. Proverbs 23: 29-34 warns us, “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness and dimness of eyes?

“Those who tarry long at the wine, those who go to seek and try mixed wine.; Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the wineglass, when it goes down smoothly. At the last it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. [Under the influence of wine] your eyes will behold strange things [and loose women] and your mind will utter things turned the wrong way [untrue, incorrect, and petulant]. Yes, you will be [as unsteady] as he who lies down in the midst of the sea, and [as open to disaster] as he who lies upon the top of a mast. 

Any worldly solution will not bring lasting peace. Every thing worldly you try will ultimately lead to some loss or destruction in the time to come. In John 10:10 Jesus says, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” 

Let us turn to the Lord Jesus in the times when we feel helpless, powerless, lonely, defeated, lost and confused. Let us keep away from destructive habits and influences that mislead us.

Let us learn from David

We can learn from David who sought the Lord and kept on praising Him during even the toughest times in his life. In Psalm 34:1-4 he says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My life makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble and afflicted hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought (inquired of) the Lord and required Him [of necessity and on the authority of His Word], and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” 

Like David, we can turn to the Word of God to find the assurance, the hope and peace we need. The Word of God is an excellent source to help us overcome our struggles, our problems and difficulties in life. We can claim the promises that Lord has given us and stand in faith believing that God Who is a keeper of His Word will surely come through for us.

Jesus is calling you saying, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]” (Matthew 11:28). Won’t you let Jesus calm your heart and take your worries and burdens away?

Note: All verses quoted are from the Amplified Bible