“God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”
Acts 17:27-28 NIV
Sister, when you think about identity, what do you think distinguishes one person from another? Often, we define people by their jobs, occupation, marital status, the color of their skin, age, political affiliations, or other similar identity markers. If you were to take all these things away from a person, who would they be?
John 15:5 says, “…without me you are nothing”. This is one of the most powerful scriptures we could ever come to terms with as God’s children. Our identity should never be placed on an external factor, but on Christ, who is the source and sustainer of our lives! Mama, until we come to terms with that, we are confined to the ever-shifting ground, and will never have the foundation that is sure to anchor our identity on. We are nothing without Christ!
Why is it important for us to understand our identity as Christians? Sister, it is WHO we are! Without Jesus, we would have no basis of reference for our faith. Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) tells us,
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
But you might ask yourself, “How can I uncover my identity and embrace who I am in Christ Jesus?”
“-remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.”
Ephesians 2:12 NIV
Our past experiences and the conflicting voices and opinions of others have shaped how we’ve viewed ourselves. Traumatic events may have even given us a biased or colored worldview. The labels the world has put on us based on race, gender, occupation, and other such identity markers have all left us without hope!
But…
When we RENEW our minds from our old mindsets to new thoughts – we are filled with HOPE!
God’s Word is full of constant reminders about who He says we are – we are loved by God (1 John 3:1), we are saved (John 5:24), we are a part of God’s kingdom (Ephesians 2:19), we are forgiven (1 John 1:9), we are overcomers (1 John 5:4)!
We need to be consistently dwelling on these promises because if we don’t – the enemy will remind us of those old lies and try to bring us down in shame and regret. Sister, dispute and discard the enemies lies by taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ESV
As you go about your day today, and as you step into an understanding of who God says you are, pray this prayer with me-
Lord, thank you for being the source and sustainer of my life. It is because of you that I live, move, and have my being. Help me, Lord, to remember who I AM in You always. Help me to silence and discard the lies of the enemy and instead, remember and hold on to the truth of Your Word about me. In Jesus name, Amen.
Love,
Oluseye Ashiru & The Help Club For Moms Team
She is an Author, a Certified Clarity, Parenting and Family Values Coach, Trainer, and Speaker with the John Maxwell Team. She is the Founder of Mothers Arising, a global community of over 12, 000 mothers
represented globally across 24 countries in 5 continents.
As the CEO & Lead Coach at Mom Youniversity, she has had the privilege of coaching over 2,500 women in the last 7 years, through her training, coaching, and mentoring programs. Her passion is for helping mothers to be more intentional about their motherhood and to also equip moms with the right tools, structure, and strategy to discover, embrace and fulfill their God-given purpose.
Oluseye also serves as the Founder and Lead Disciple at ROOTED Disciples Bible School, a discipleship school with a mandate to equip believers with the foundational truth of God’s Word and to disciple others.
She is a published author of eight books and counting, and she also loves to write and
produce empowering content for women and particularly mothers. She shares this passion through blogging for platforms like Mothers Arising Blog,
Help Club for Moms, Thrive Global, Huffington Post, She Leads Africa, and her recent podcast series aired globally across 12 international platforms.
To learn more about Oluseye, you can find her on these platforms:
Website: www.oluseyeashiru.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/oluseyeashiru
Facebook: www.facebook.com/oluseyeashiru
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