Halloween is right around the corner. Kiddos are trying on costumes and adults and the like are dressing up to imitate others. Did you know wearing costumes on All Hallows Eve was once a pagan tradition to confuse evil spirits? Recently, my Facebook and LinkedIn accounts were hacked, my credit card was scammed, and some weird bot thing got onto my phone through an app and swiped all of my passwords. Someone dressed up as me, pulled a scammy trick, and stole my stuff!
Getting cards cancelled, bank accounts rerouted, passwords changed....I felt violated. I told all of my friends that my identity had been stolen. I deleted my accounts and am still working on getting things sorted with my finances. What a mess! Having my identity stolen really wreaked havoc on my life!
Yet at the end of the day, I felt convicted that these were the things that I was attributing to my identity. How much time was I investing in these mediums? I wanted my identity to be in Christ, but I spent days focusing and crying over these lost...what? Meta-narratives of snapshots of my life? Well, yeah--I was. I felt attacked...for a while. Then I realized I needed to quit worrying about what happened and start remembering who was for me: God.
Romans 8: 31-32 says, "31What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (NIV; see also Mark 9: 39-40, Luke 11:23, Matthew 12:30).
The things of this world will continue to come at us, day after day, but God is forever. With my identity in Christ, I don't have to worry about who or what is coming against me; God's totally got me. When I identify as a child of God, I know whose I am; whose I am defines who I am. Here are some things I know that God says about me:
I am chosen: Ephesians 1:4, "...even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world"
I am a child of the most high God: John 1:12, "...to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..."
I am free: John 8:36, " So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
I am not forsaken: Deuteronomy 31:8 " It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
My identity is in Christ, and I am who God says I am. Since he is before me, I can rest at peace and know that all of these hackers coming against me will not win.
This all started in mid July. Quite a few things have happened since then, but I feel the gentle push on my heart to talk about the importance of having an identity in Christ. I often hear people talk about the different things that shape their identity. I am a teacher, a mom, a daughter a sister, a hiker, a fisher, a lover of dogs...and this is a short list, but at the center of my identity is Christ. My love for Jesus surpasses all of these other identities; yet, this love helps his light shine through these identities. People don't need to dress up and pretend they are something they are not; God made you perfectly imperfect just the way you are.
Whatever you are up against today, remember whose you are. Yours in Christ, Michelle
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