Have you ever experienced driving in fog?
A fog that is so heavy and early that it’s at the point you can’t really see what’s in front of you? You’re waiting for it to clear and then finally, there is the light and the fog is cleared and you can finally see.
It’s the image that comes to mind when I picture the reality when we encounter the true light and hope in Jesus Christ.
The fog has lifted and we can now see.
In the fog, we too were blind to the reality of our sin. Wanderers in darkness and trying to know who we are. Questions of “why am I here?”, “where do I belong?”, “what is my purpose?”, and feeling lost.
We too were once in the bondage of the lies of satan being bound by our shame, our regret, the things that have happened, or the weight of our sin. Who could love us? Will there be light in this hopelessness? Will the light ever come? Will I ever be free from this bondage?
We would say "this is who I am"…but GOD.
God, the one who created the heavens and the earth, the one who created the cosmic and galaxies called you by name and said “YOU ARE MINE.” (Isaiah 43:1)
He saw you and in His love declares that He chose us before time. (Ephesians 1:1-6)
Even when we wandered and strayed, He made a way so we could be set FREE.
For us to know whose we are: that we have been bought by the blood of Christ and He has cleansed us from our sins.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
No longer do we carry our sin, but we carry the inheritance of God as His sons and daughters.
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” Ephesians 1:7-10
But, to find our identity in Christ, we can no longer keep the old.
We cannot keep both.
It’s not a one-foot-in and one-foot-out kind of situation. You’re taking that leap of faith and saying “I’m all in.” God didn’t hesitate to give it all for us - He gave everything so we could have fellowship and a relationship with Him.
THIS IS LOVE!
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9
For us to receive the new, we have to surrender it all.
Elizabeth Elliot said this about surrender:
“We are not meant to die merely in order to be dead. God could not want that for the creatures to whom He has given the breath of life. We die in order to live.”
In death, there is LIFE.
“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” Romans 6:5-7
And yes, sometimes our old identity will try to creep back into our lives. We have to make a choice to lay it down on the cross and take hold of the truth. And even in the times where we fall short, there is grace.
I too had struggled with an old identity of being a “victim.” A victim of hurt from past experiences with family, friends, ministry and started to believe the lie that this is who I was.
Yes, God is with us in our comfort and pain, but if we stay there, it will manifest and be rooted in our hearts.
I allowed the hurt and bitterness to grow. At first it was a few weeks, then those weeks turned to months, and then covid happened. My isolation turned to me clinging to the pain and justifying that it was my “right” to feel this way. My joy turned to depression. My hope turned to sorrow. I wrestled with God with my questions and my doubts. And in His grace, He would remind through His Word, His people, that this is real, but this is not who you are.
This verse will always come to my heart when the days or seasons are hard.
Galatians 5:1 says
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”
There’s no taking back what God has set you free from.
There will be days where we may fall short, but God in His love doesn’t leave us there.
Is the process hard? Yes, but press in to Him. Run to HIM.
He desires to have fellowship with us and to reveal who He has called you to be. We are here to declare that Jesus has come to set the captive free! But you have to keep coming to the light.
God will reveal it, but will you trust Him and go to Him? Will you surrender the old identity that “feels good” to fully be alive in Him?
He loves you.
He has chosen you.
He is calling you to Himself.
He forgives you.
He is not ashamed of you.
He calls you by your name.
In surrender no longer are you _____ (fill in the blank)_____. In Christ's surrender on the cross, it was his death that buried our sin and in his resurrection we have been given new life.
Our identity is no longer hidden but is found in HIM.
You are now
Adopted
Chosen
Beloved
Clean
Healed
Free
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
~ Sarah Moon