– by Emily Fieg
We are living in a difficult time right now. So much of what we believed our identity to be is being stripped away. Employees are losing their jobs. College students are back home. Graduating seniors won’t be walking on the stage and brides won’t be walking down the aisle.
Many people are missing out on sports and hobbies and competitions that are important to their self-created identity. Doctors and nurses may feel like they have lost all identity outside of their profession. Moms and dads are overwhelmed and may feel like they are not living up to either their parenting or work-related identity.
Most people are now just trying to make it through this time healthy and safe, with the people they love.
We are grieving the loss of who we were and what life was like. But I know someone who sees your identity outside of all those things. In fact, He wants you to know that was never who you were. He wants to show you who you truly are.
You were created in the image of your Creator. You are dearly loved by God, no matter what you have done. When you accept Jesus as Savior, you are not only saved, but also forgiven and free! You are adopted into God’s family—yes, a son or daughter of the King of Kings—and have an inheritance both now and in heaven.
But the enemy likes to speak other identities over us, doesn’t he? He likes to make us think we are still slaves to sin, and give us the thought that we are unlovable or unwanted. Or conversely, he may make us think that we are somehow, from our own ability and actions, better than everyone else—and fills our heart with pride. We need to watch out for the tactics of the enemy and learn to recognize the lies we are believing so we can choose to reject them.
Do you know that God wants to speak to you? Up until about two years ago, I lived most of my years as a Christian believing God didn’t have much to say directly to me (except through reading the Bible). I was amazed when I learned that God is speaking all the time. Not just to the super-spiritual, but to all His sheep. In John 10:3-4, Jesus says, “…the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”
It was a process to begin hearing God’s voice since I’d dismissed it for so long, but I hear Him more clearly each day. If you were like me, and haven’t learned to hear God’s voice, now is a great time to start. He’s waiting to talk to you—if you’re ready to listen.
In a time when so many voices are telling us what to think, do, and feel, and most of it is leading us to fear and despair, God wants to speak to you about who He created you to be. He wants to speak of the hope and future He has for you. In this season, He is looking for people to partner with Him through their prayers, their actions, and their faith.
So, will you accept God’s invitation to dig deeper into the identity He’s given you? Will you begin to listen for His voice and silence the voice of the enemy? I pray you will have ears to hear and eyes to see.
This was written by Emily Fieg.
Emily is the author of Pharisee Set Free: Abandoning religion to seek the heart of God.
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