When we seek our personal identity from our mate, family,
job or material possessions, we can lose it overnight. Then we are adrift
without an anchor to stabilize our life. We may look to our character, talents
and independence for our identity until we are accused, or even falsely accused
of a crime and put in jail or dismissed from our job. However, if we draw our
personal identity from Christ in us, we find a solid rock on which it can stand
for eternity, regardless of our circumstances in life.
Paul related his struggle with his personal identity in
Romans 7; and at the very last verse, he realizes that God freed him from sin,
as well as the condemnation of sin (Romans 8:1). He
comprehended the fact that the law of sin and death no longer has any power
over the Saints of God, because we are set free by the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2). Our sinful self died in Christ,
and we are raised to walk in His new life (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Christ is our whole life (Colossians 3:4). Jesus did
only those things, which He saw our Father do (John 5:19). We have
no separate identity apart from the Father either. We live only to please and
bring honor to our Lord. His life flows through us and we bear much fruit (John
15:5). We grow in the knowledge of God, and He fills us with endurance and
patience, as we joyfully thank Him for His love for us, for His blessings in
our life and for replacing our identity with His (Colossians 1:10-12).
We wait on God to give us His thoughts, living from our
spirit instead of from our human soul – our mind, will and emotions. We refrain
from listening to our human thoughts, so that our words and thoughts come only
from Christ within us. We desire God with our whole heart, seeking only His
will for our life, and using the gifts, which He provides for us, as He opens
doors that no man can close.
Prayer:
Father God, we relinquish our dependence on our self and we
rely totally on You. We hunger and thirst after Your righteousness (Matthew
5:6). We thank You for increasing our faith and for helping us to live for
Your glory. We totally surrender our life to You, and we thank You for Your
spiritual wisdom and understanding (Ephesians 1:17). We
succeed in life only through the power of Your might (Ephesians
6:10), not by our human reasoning and efforts. Regardless of the
circumstances in our life, our personal identity comes from our relationship
with You.
Thought for the Day:
We wait on the Lord until Christ is fully developed in us
as our personal identity. – Galatians 4:19