What you allow to define you will determine your destiny. All decisions flow from your identity.
Satan’s temptations of Jesus Christ began with an attack on his identity: “IF you are the Christ…” (Matt. 4). Every move forward in your dreams and visions for 2019 will start from the foundation of your identity AND every obstacle and attack of the enemy starts in the same place. Who you are always becomes what you do.
We become the size of the dreams we are courageous enough to pursue. Or we shrink to the size fear allows us to become…which is always smaller than what we were designed by God to be.
The enemy of all men wants to cause you to quit. This enemy is after your identity. What is your basic identity? You were made in the image of God, and born for a purpose. You have ideas, dreams, and thoughts about your life. You are uniquely you.
Your identity is the story you tell yourself about yourself.
Too often, the story men tell themselves is based on the words they heard from someone else. Too often, it’s the negative words that stick. But the more you lean into God, the clearer your purpose becomes, the more positive your personal narrative, and the greater your potential for success.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT).
True freedom is to become who we really are. Our real identity is grounded in our faith in Christ.
“Put on your new nature and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him” (Col. 3:10 NLT).
The power of my identity comes from the fact that God loves me with a passion. He is my heavenly father, and nothing can separate me from His love (Romans 8). My identity is grounded in His unconditional love for me.
But, if the enemy can steal your identity—he can control your heart. And it’s from your heart that the story of your life unfolds. What’s in our hearts becomes what we do with our hands.
Your identity is a new one, with a new nature, created by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul wrote:
“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Eph. 4 NLT).
Don’t cling to the old identity of your past…be a new man in 2019!
