Identity Crisis
Our culture has a bad case of identity crisis. We are setting our goals, ideas, and actions based on what others expect of us. If things don’t go the way we expect, we find ourselves assuming it isn’t for us and quit before we even dive deep enough to tell. I’ve been there.
It’s hard to believe you have a purpose when schools are teaching that we are just some random accident that crawled out of a primordial soup pool. We are told we can make up our own truths about what is right for us despite most of them having no foundation to hold up under trials.
Every trial I faced in my teens and twenties wound up ending in a frustrating disaster. I did not fit in. No one understood me. I was sick of being alone to the point I tried too hard to conform. It all led to me being a very angry woman, who finally screamed, “I’ve had enough.” It took some time after that to find the answer.
It’s when we hit the end of our rope, that we see things in a different light. Even things that never made sense to us, find a new life that tickles our understanding. The answer to our identity is not entirely based on logic, at least the logic of this world. I found a firm foundation when in total frustration, accepted the guidance that led me to reading the Gospels and choosing to follow Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour.
Twenty-two years later, I’m still following and I’m still learning. It was what I learned in that first year that cemented me to accepting this journey with Jesus. I’m a highly analytical person, hence why I did a lot of work as an engineer in two industries. However, I knew this kind of logic worked well for work, but not in finding who I truly was and how I fit into the universe. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:12 that what seems right to us could lead to death and that it does not come close to what is right per God. (my paraphrasing)
God wants us to accept the identity He wants for us and even better when we aren’t sure who we are, He will show Himself. By knowing Jesus, we can learn about who we are to be in Him. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 states that Jesus is our firm foundation and that hell can’t prevail against it. Hell was pretty much where I might as well have been before accepting Jesus because I was miserable and angry with everything.
Even Moses had doubts of who he was when God came to him via a burning bush to say he would be the one who would lead the Israelites out of Egypt. God did not talk about who Moses was when he doubted. No, He explained who He was and answered Moses by saying he would tell the Israelites I AM sent him. God wants to send us into the world for His purposes and He is the one that gave us the desires of our hearts knowing what intent He had before He even formed us. That can make your head spin, but the more I learn of Jesus, the more I know of who I should be and what I must do. I have a purpose.
We all have one. We are not random beings of some cosmic accident. I honestly think the big bang might as well have been God’s voice saying, “Let there be light.” And boom, there it was. I could go on about my studies in science that prove God exists, but that is another topic for later. As I dig deeper into who God is, I find that firm foundation that nothing can shake.
This is why I write. God instilled the desire in me at a young age. I’ve always sought for the better side of things and how to obtain them. I’ve always wanted to live in the Light rather than the Dark. I still flounder with dark things because I’m still peeling off the layers and learning new things. I want to share the truth in the hopes that those that read my words turn from a destructive path like I was once on and find one full of light, life and truth.
Here are some verses about our identity in Jesus Christ that we can latch onto.
John 1:12-13 NKJV: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
1 Peter 2:9-10 NKJV: But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you of the darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
We can live a life of purpose in the transformation we all can obtain through Jesus Christ. We will not feel like orphans no matter what our personality is. We will have a place to do the works God set as the desires of our heart and align with His will. I’ve enjoyed life far more with Him despite believing I’ve had far more trials after than before. Those trials test me and transform me into who He intended all along. The more I believe that and get to know Him, the deeper my overall peace is in this turbulent world. It can be the same way for you.