Editor's note: Enjoy today's devotion written for Devotionals Daily by Anne Wilson, author of Rebel.
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See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! — 1 John 3:1
Deep inside, each of us longs to be loved and wanted. We need to belong. We crave acceptance. These aren’t desires we should try to extinguish. God put these longings inside of us to lead us to Himself. A part of us will never be satisfied without Him, because we are meant to be accepted. God is love, and when we find ourselves in Him, we experience perfect love.
God has adopted us as His children. We are His—forever.
Sadly, at some point, we all go looking for acceptance and identity in the wrong places. It might be through appearance and beauty; expensive or trendy clothes; intelligence; athleticism and physical fitness; a “good” reputation; being “nice” and likable; religious self-righteousness (trying to be good on our own and the pride that comes with that); popularity and fame; power and control; our family background; or even an illness or disability.
The number of ways we can try to find our identity outside of God is almost endless. Satan has made sure of that. But no matter how many temptations we face to place our hope in the world, there is only One True Source. It’s Jesus, the One who proved you were worth everything to Him, the God of the Universe who was willing to lay down His own life to save you and buy you back from the kingdom of darkness.
When the Bible says Jesus has redeemed us or provided our redemption, it means He has paid a price to cover the debt we owe! The price He paid for me and for you is His very own life. You are a blood-bought, battle-fought, made-new child of the King!
For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. — Colossians 1:13–14
Still, the lure to let the world define you won’t stop coming—and that’s why it is so vital to resist the world’s empty system and count yourself as a rebel for Jesus. The battle for who you are is not something you face once. Every day of your life, you will have to choose to center yourself in God and let Him remind you who you are. Every time you’re scared, hurting, or lonely, you get to decide if you will look for relief and acceptance in the things of this culture or if you will rebel against the world’s lies and temptations and run into the arms of the Father. So suit up, warrior—you are in a battle for your soul.
Whether the world tries to tell you that you aren’t enough or you’re too much, those statements are all lies. Comparing yourself to others will never lead to truth, joy, or freedom. Instead, it will enslave you to trying to live up to a false reality, and it will steal your joy.
- You’ll never be content trying to be someone other than who God created you to be.
Consider the words of David as he described how lovingly God created us:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. — Psalm 139:13–16
And remember that God didn’t call you to fit some cookie-cutter version of another human. He created you unlike any other person who has ever lived or will ever live. And He loves what He made in you. No one else carries exactly what you carry. Please don’t hide the gifts God has given you just so other people might accept you.
It’s a daily battle, my friends, and it’s often a hard one. But God is in it with us. We are never alone. His Word is the rock we stand on. It’s the rock I stand on when I step out onto a stage to sing songs praising His name and feel out of place. He’s the One I cling to when the world tells me I’m not enough or I’m too much. I’m not going to try to fit their mold. I’m aiming to look like my Savior.
The world will keep telling you to find yourself in the systems it has created, not in God’s perfect plan. Society will peddle the lie that if you focus on yourself, you will “find” yourself. People will try to get you to fit their own molds—they already have, time and time again, right?
Bottom line, the enemy wants you lost in any identity other than your true one. But you must rebel against all of this. You must stand against the overwhelming tide of lies in this world about who you are and what you’re worth.
Will you stand with me? Feet planted on the Solid Rock of Jesus Christ, let’s lay down our lives, take up our cross, and follow Him.
Let’s lose our lives in Jesus so that we can be found!
There is great power in believers who intimately know the One they follow and are walking in their true, God-given identity.
Creator God, You are good, and You are the maker of all things—including me. You knit me together for a specific purpose and destiny. Please expose the lies I have believed about myself, and about You, and establish my unique identity in You. Amen.
Written for Devotionals Daily by Anne Wilson, author of Rebel.
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Your Turn
If you feel that ache to be wanted, to be loved, and to be accepted, that’s normal. But, here’s the thing: you already are wanted, loved, and accepted by God! He created you to be you in all your you-ness. Walk in that with Him! ~ Devotionals Daily