Sealed Women: I Amનમૂનો

DAY 1: The Most Important Question

"The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever." (Psalm 138:8)

The two most important questions in life are:

1. Who is God?
2. And who am I?

What you and I believe about God and ourselves are our hearts' most central and fundamental beliefs. The further these inner beliefs stray from Truth, the more our distorted interpretations of identity will affect our behavior.

Each of us is on an identity journey. We are born knowing nothing about ourselves, and we learn new things about who we are with each season.

Behind our thoughts and emotions, beneath our daily words and desires, there is a trove of hidden beliefs about our own identity and worth that either clarify or confuse the choices we make in life.

It affects almost every area - how we think and feel in a given moment, how we approach daily opportunities and react to problems, and how we view God and our current circumstances.

The understanding of identity is quite clear to a foreigner outside their own country. While in one's land, they may be just a number on identification documents. But when they leave their territory of citizenship, their passport determines their rights, obligations, and limitations.

Identity is a central issue in our existence.

Jesus' entire life is an illustration of the priority of identity.

When Jesus was baptized and came out of the Jordan River, eyewitnesses heard a voice from heaven saying:

"This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:17).

God the Father could have taken the opportunity to say very important things to Jesus for all to hear. He could have said, "Follow My Law" or "You must die and You will die, but do not be afraid. You will live again." But instead, Jesus' Heavenly Father went straight to the heart and spoke about identity. That was heaven's priority. For the Father, identity took precedence over instruction.

"God declared this audible blessing of love and acceptance before Jesus had ever preached a sermon, called a disciple, performed His first miracle, or accomplished His Father's will. God wanted everyone present, including His Son, to hear exactly Who Jesus was and how deeply He was already loved in the eyes of His Heavenly Father." - Stephen Kendrick.

You can work hard, living the Christian life in your strength, or even living out different identities to please others. Still, you will likely burn out and fail to follow God's instructions if you don't first understand the bigger picture of who you are, Who He is, what He has done for you, and what resources are available to help you.

With all the distractions and data overload around us, you may not think much about who you really are. But your identity affects your every single day.

My Declaration:

(Watch the following video and speak out loud what God’s Word says about who you are. Verses are paraphrased based on the specific the Bible references.)