Who Am I Really? A Journey to Discover Your True Identityናሙና

According to the KING, you are VICTORIOUS.

• Lord, because you have surrounded me with such a great cloud of witnesses, I will run my race with perseverance. ~Hebrews 12:1
• The LORD God is with me. He will fight for me and give me victory. ~Deuteronomy 20:4

When our son and daughter ran track in high school, my husband and I really enjoyed going to their meets. Most track events are judged on individual performance—unless of course you are running a relay race, in which case you are judged as a team.

Athletes seek to improve their personal times, being sure to do their very best in any given race. Of course, they hope to beat their opponents, but even if they don't win the race, they still take pride in knowing they’ve given it their all.

Our son was a sprinter, but his best friend was a long-distance runner. Long distance running takes a lot of endurance. As the one-mile race would near its end, teammates would gather alongside the track shouting encouragement to the runners, spurring them on to victory. I was always amazed to see how the exhausted runners would find a final burst of energy to propel themselves towards the finish line after hearing their teammate’s cheers of support.

In First Corinthians Paul makes the analogy that living the Christian life is a lot like running a race. If we want to get the prize, we need to go into strict training and give it all we’ve got.

Much like the athletes competing in a track meet, we sometimes need the encouragement of our teammates to propel us toward the finish line. The idea is not to finish ahead of everyone else but to run our personal best and to give it all we’ve got.

Do you see someone growing weary? Is their perseverance running low? Why not run alongside them for a while and cheer them on to victory.

Perhaps you’re growing weary running your own race. Call out to your fellow Christians for some encouragement. Like any long-distance runner, you too will find that extra burst of energy to finish your race strong.

Make it Personal:

• Have you ever participated in a race? If so, in what ways did you benefit from the experience?
• What are some ways that you need encouragement to keep running your “life race” so you can be victorious?
• I have heard it said that the healthiest Christians have three types of people in their life:
  • Individuals running ahead. (They are the ones who mentor and encourage you).
  • Individuals running behind. (These are the people you take time to mentor and encourage).
  • Individuals running alongside. (These are the people running at the same pace).

Who in your life would you categorize into each of these roles?

Action Step:

Ask God to help you fill any of the missing roles described above.

Prayer:

Lord, I love you so much! Thank you for helping me to discover my true identity in you through this journey, and I pray that you will help me to both walk in my newfound identity and run the race you have marked out for me with confidence and perseverance. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Did this Plan encourage you? We’d love to get to know you better. You can connect with RaeLynn DeAngelis (Founder of Living in Truth Ministries) by CLICKING HERE.