Misplaced Identity
Do you know you have an identity?
Do you know your life should reflect your identity?
Do you also know that you are not immune to mixed-identity?
According to the dictionary I use, Identity is the difference or character that marks off an individual from the rest of the same kind. Another definition is “sense of who one is”. So do you really know who you are or you are what your friends want you to be, what your circumstance made you believe you are, what your spouse or partners want you to be. Or what your family want you to be! What works for others might not work for you!
Sometimes ago, I specifically asked my tailor to make a dress for me and in designing it I asked her to make a slit at the front of the dress. I was actually in the season of “I don’t care what anybody says” which was unusual of me. One Saturday while conversing with the holy spirit my wardrobe manager, we agreed to go to church the following day in that revealing dress. I got to church the next day in my dress and I felt odd in my dress. Like this is not my identity, this is not who I am. I wasn’t comfortable throughout the service and the crux of it all, I had to wait behind for worker’s meeting and I just had to turn a blind eye to it and move with the flow. Nobody gave me an odd look in church or even approached me to offer advice but I know in my heart that I was not representing my identity. Without too much story, I knew that was my last time in that dress. I later gave out the dress to someone else.
Have you ever thought of why you are here on earth or you are just living one day at a time? You know just dabble in and out of this thing, get a job, marriage and start bearing children. All this things are good but nothing is as beautiful compared to fulfilling God’s purpose through this things. Imagine living your entire life fulfilling purpose and making God proud of you, what could be more satisfying than that!!
In my case I knew my identity but I wasn’t comfortable owning up to it. I wanted to enjoy the world even though I knew I belonged to Christ. I did not want to be seen as a Jesus freak even though I was one. I wanted to fit in but I still did not as much as I tried. It felt like this ain’t me and I had to find my way back to the cross.
Matthew 6:24 talks about how no one can serve two masters; God and anything that is valued more than God. You just can’t satisfy both of them at the same time and the one you give your heart to takes the lead.
Often times we get mixed up and confused with what is trending and our identity and we just want to throw away our identity so we can fit in to the society.
Guess what? You were not created to fit in. you owe it to nobody to keep up with trends in the society.
You just read the right thing. If everyone accepts you then something is wrong somewhere! Because even Jesus wasn’t accepted everywhere he went to but it did not stop him from doing the work of the father. Why should it stop you???
Everyone loves that other people will see Jesus in them but excuse me they can’t see what is not existing. You that you are even confused about who you are, how can others know who you are.
You don’t like something but because you don’t want them to think you are being “churchy” you just let it pass. I can’t count how many times I’ve done this and how many times I’ve owned up to my faith and identity. It looks like a difficult task but you can do it. There is this lines I love to sing to myself once in a while, I would have loved for you to hear my sweet voice singing them.
Here is it::
If you think about something often enough, You start saying it,
If you say something often enough, you start doing it,
if you do something often enough, it becomes an habit,
and if you hold unto an habit long enough, it becomes part of you!
Let your identity become something you think about.
Let it take precedence in your heart.
When you do this consistently, you don’t have to explain your decisions because the people around you already know who you are and what you stand for and whoever you give your heart to determines your identity.
In case you are clueless about your identity, ask the holy spirit to reveal who you are to you. He is the friend that stays close more than a brother and trust me he is the only one who knows who you are.
Jesus loves You!!!
