Finding my Identity in the Sea of Labels

February 12, 2016


So, this is really recent and still pretty raw, but there's a message behind it that I believe is worth sharing.

Remember that work-from-home job that I picked up just a few months ago?
Yah.
I recently made the really hard decision to leave that job.

There were great things about that job and even greater potential.
But I really felt God telling me that it was taking me away from my family and that it just wasn't the right time for that job.

It's been really deflating and discouraging.
So I started asking myself "Why?"
"Why is it so devastating to leave that behind?"

And I came to realize that I was really struggling with the thought of losing the title "work from home mom".
I hated losing that defining part of my identity.

There are a lot of different layers and aspects of my identity, and the truth is, many of them are fleeting.  I mean, in all honesty, many things that I use to define myself could be snatched away in an instant.

Wife
Mom
Work from home mom

Any of that could change overnight, so I can't get caught up in allowing my identity to come from those things.

I have to remind myself that it is my identity in Christ that is constant, never changing.

Yes, I can still describe myself in ways such as "wife" and "mom" in an effort to find commonality with some readers.  But I also have to look at the qualifiers that I am or that I have just because of who God says I am.

So, here are some reminders.  Mainly for myself.  But maybe also for you.  Maybe you are struggling with your identity too.  Consider what is fleeting and what is constant.  I want to be grounded in the things of the never changing Father.


This list is something I received from my Moms' Group, and it would be a great list to study further and even add to.  Can I encourage you to skim the list and see what truth reaches out and speaks to you? 

Maybe you need reminding that you are His child.
Maybe you need to remember that you are His chosen one.
Maybe it's the reminder that you are redeemed and made new in Christ.

These are the things I cling to as my circumstances change and my boat gets rocked through the waves of life.

Who Am I?

I am the salt of the earth. (Matthew 5:13)
I am the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14)
I am a child of God. (John 1:2)
I am a part of the true vine, a channel of Christ’s life and chosen to bear his fruit. (John 15:1, 5, 16)
I am Christ’s friend. (John 15:15)
I am a slave of righteousness. (Romans 6:18)
I am a son/daughter of God; God is spiritually my Father. (Romans 8:14, 15; Galatians 4:6)
I am a joint heir with Christ. (Romans 8:17)
I am the dwelling place of God’s Spirit and Life. (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)
I am a member of Christ’s body. (1 Corinthians 12:27)
I am a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I am reconciled to God and a minister of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5: 18, 19)
I am a saint. (Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2)
I am God’s workmanship, created to do His work. (Ephesians 2:10)
I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God’s family. (Ephesians 2:19)
I am righteous and holy. (Ephesians 2:24)
I am seated in heaven right now. (Ephesians 2:6)
I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved. (Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4)
I share in the life of Christ. (Hebrews 3:14)
I am one of God’s living stones, being built in Christ as a spiritual house. (1 Peter 2:5)
I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. (1 Peter 2:9, 10)
I am an enemy of the devil. (1 Peter 5:8)
I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when He returns. (1 John 3:1, 2)
I am born of God, and the devil cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)

Since I Am in Christ, By God's Grace...

I have been justified – completely forgiven and made righteous. (Romans 5:1)
I died with Christ and died to the power of sin’s rule over my life. (Romans 6:1-6)
I am free forever from condemnation. (Romans 8:1)
I have been placed into Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:30)
I have been given the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16)
I have been bought with a price; I belong to God. (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20)
I have been made righteous. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
I have been crucified with Christ and it’s no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I am now living is Christ’s life. (Galatians 2:20)
I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. (Ephesians 1:3)
I was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him. (Ephesians 1:4)
I have been rescued from the domain of Satan’s rule and transferred to the kingdom of Christ. (Colossians 1:13)
I am redeemed by the blood. (Ephesians 1:7)
I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. The debt has been cancelled. (Colossians 1:14)
I have been made complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10)
I have been buried, raised and made alive with Christ. (Colossians 2:12, 13)
I have the right to come boldly before God to find mercy and grace in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
I have been given very great and precious promises by God, these allow me to share in God’s nature. (1 Peter 1:4)


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