MESSAGE
We live in a culture that has made it easy to live without a definite identity or exist with multiple identities. Maybe you are like other students that have multiple social media accounts so that some people see one identity and others see something else. We’ve become lost in knowing who we really are.
Understanding and living in your God-given identity will change everything for you. There is so much pressure to be certain things to certain people, but for God, you don’t need to be anything more than who He says you are. Do you understand who you are? Does your identity matter?
You are chosen by God, and you are His royal priesthood, meaning that you are His voice, a carrier of His power, and “His very own possession” (v.9). It’s important for you to understand that He is pleased with you and He’s chosen to put His identity in you. John 14:12-14 tells us, “anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done and even greater works…”
You don’t need to change yourself to please others; this can suck the life right out of you. He has given you life because you are His. He has given you an identity in Him so you can be His, know who you are, and then influence those around you. If your identity is like everyone around you, they won’t see anything different.
However, if you take on the identity of who you are in Jesus, then people around you will begin to see something different and want what you have. You can “show others the goodness of God” (v.9). Once we had no identity but now our identity is in God, trust Him, live according to His Word, and trust that He is going to show His power through you.
Taking on your identity in Jesus will happen as you spend time in His presence worshiping Him, spend time in His Word, and time in prayer. Let Him speak to you and His Word over you. Let His labels define you, not what our culture says or even what those around you say.
Read
Prayer: Lord, may I not copy the identity of others, but rather help me to be an original, a leader. Not a follower of the people of this world, but a faithful follower of You and all You created me to be.
Journal Book Questions:
1. What did God say to you?
2. What did you say to God?
