3 Steps To Find Your Identity in Christ

Most of my life was lived in an identity crisis.  I didn’t know my identity, let alone my identity in Christ. It stunted my Spiritual growth. Today we will see how anyone can find their identity in Christ and walk with strong faith!

This is not easy, but it is simple. To know your Christian identity you must:

1. Know Whose you are.
2. Understand who HE called you to be.
3. Know your enemy and his schemes.

What Does The Bible Say About Our Identity In Christ?

As a Christian growing up in a Bible-teaching church I heard so many sermons about knowing my identity in Christ. The problem was I didn’t understand what the preacher was talking about. Anybody else?

It seemed like all the adults around me got it, but I was lost. Some questions I had as a child carried over as I grew up:

• What does identity in Christ even mean?
• Why is it important to know your identity in Christ?
• How do you know what your identity is just as a human being? 
• Once you know that identity how do you keep it fresh, live in it, walk in it, and allow it to change your life?
• What is God’s identity if that matters?

What Does Identity in Christ Mean?

I’d like to share some of those answers where they are very black and white.

What is your identity?

If I were describing myself to a stranger who needed to find me in a crowd I would use words like white female, dirty blond hair, overweight, medium height, and probably barefoot.

If I were describing myself to a new friend in class I use phrases like, quiet wife, homeschool mom, Jesus girl who loves to read, sing, write, and teach. These are all parts of how I identify myself now.

Our identity in Christ is different, however.

What does the Bible say about our identity in Christ? So much! There are countless Bible verses about our identity in Christ to help answer our questions. Here is one I love!

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1 ESV)

Knowing your identity in Christ is about knowing how Christ describes you.

Why Is It Important to Know Your Identity in Christ?

Does it matter if you ever fully understand your identity in Christ?

It absolutely does!

If you don’t understand who God says you are, you will never fully walk in the power and authority that is yours as His child.

Why does it matter that you walk in the power and authority of a Christian?

Spiritual warfare is a real thing in the life of a Believer. There is a real war happening over every lost soul on this planet. You are called to be a warrior for God in the battle. If you don’t know the authority you carry, you will never win the fight.

For years I lived from one crisis to the next never understanding why it was so hard. Then I found these identity in Christ verses in Romans 8!

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39 NASB)

What Is Identity in Christ in the Book of Ephesians?

There is so much Scripture on our identity in Christ in the book of Ephesians. It speaks directly to who God says we are to Him.

“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him”
“In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters“
“He favored us in the Beloved.”
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.“
“In Him we also have obtained an inheritance “
“you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise,” (Selections from Ephesians 1 NASB)

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)

“And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” (Ephesians 2:6 ESV)

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,” (Ephesians 2:19 ESV)

“In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.” (Ephesians 3:12 ESV)

“For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8 ESV)

Ephesians is worth your time to read and re-read as you soak in all of who God says you are in Him.

How do you know what your identity in Christ is? Search out what HE says about you. Share on X

What is God’s identity?

In all of this, you may be asking, “What is God’s identity?” It is a tough question and one that confuses even the most studied Biblical Scholar. So I will only answer it personally.

God’s identity to me is:

• Father
• Friend
• Healer
• Deliverer
• Peace giver
• Counselor
• Strength
• Shelter
• Protector
• Provider
• Satisfaction

He is my everything. That wasn’t always true, but after years of sitting in the Scripture, I have a new identity in Christ because I know who He is to me.

It is worth your time to search out who He is to you in this identity search.

Finding Your Identity in Christ

For years I wrestled with this whole idea. It was too deep for me so I stopped trying to understand the identity in Christ meaning in any way.

If someone began pushing me about it I’d shrug and say it was too hard. Does it even matter if we know our identity in Christ anyway?

But, Sweet Believer, it does matter. It can feel hard because this identity requires change and surrender. But we can do hard things. Right?

When they matter, we can do hard things! And this matters.

How Do I Put On My Identity in Christ?

Early in my walk, I used to imagine it this way.

My identity in Jesus Christ was like a superhero’s secret life.  I needed to put on my Christian identity when I stepped into the church building, like a secret identity. Believe me when I say that I had that double life mastered! 

I knew how to play up that good little church girl and then leave that identity behind when I stepped into work Monday morning. 

Can you relate?  

Identity Crisis

Honestly, I didn’t really know who I was. How was I supposed to know who God wanted me to be? 

I tried on every kind of personality I saw, just trying to find the one that fit.  There were days I was preppy. I enjoyed trying to grunge, though it’s called something else now and I can never remember the word. For a while, I thrived as a bossy JROTC chick. 

All of it seemed possible, but none of it felt like the real me. I was drifting aimlessly, hopelessly through life.  Have you ever felt that way?

When you don’t know your identity, life leads nowhere.  It is important to know your identity in Christ to avoid an aimless life!

Reaching Rock Bottom

There came a time when I reached rock bottom. I was so far down in a pit of despair that I couldn’t see my way out. 

My second marriage was on the rocks. At the time I had lost 3 pregnancies, dropped out of college, and all my friendships were toxic. I had lost every earthly possession.  There was nothing left to live for.   This was far worse than the typical anxiety I battle, this was a crisis.

Do you struggle with anxiety? 

I have battled through anxiety and PTSD for years, but this was different.

Related Post: A Wife’s True Story: Knowing The Importance of Forgiveness in Marriage Leads To Blessing

A Prayer Of Desperation

I remember praying that God would show me why I shouldn’t just drive my car off the side of the overpass.  There wasn’t a reason to live, no one needed me, nothing felt real or important… 

Then a radio preacher began to talk about how much God loved me. He said God created me specifically with His own blueprint. What’s more, HE saw every fault and quirk in me and valued me too much to leave me in a pit of despair.

It sent chills up my arms and got my attention.

Related Post: 50+ Bible Verses That Prove God Loves You

Facing the Challenge of Finding Your Identity in Christ

Ever had one of those moments?  A moment where God speaks right into your heart answering the very prayers you thought He never heard?

The preacher challenged me to pray Psalm 139 for a month. While praying, I was to ask God to show me the parts of me He designed and how sin and pain had twisted them. 

Over the course of that month, the LORD began showing me how to give my life back to Him. He began to heal me and mold the brokenness into a beautiful testimony.

If You Want to Know Your Identity, Ask God

I don’t know where this finds you today but I want to challenge you to pray as I prayed. 

Ask God to show you what He sees when He looks at you. 

• He loves you so much.
• He created you specifically with a purpose and calling. 

There may be crazy and messed up things in your world, but nothing is impossible for God.  He can take all the broken pieces and put them back together in a way that brings joy and hope into your real life.  He can help you to know your identity in Christ and walk in the power and authority you need.

A Challenge to Find Your Identity in Christ: Pray Psalm 139

I want to challenge you to do the hard work to find your identity in Christ.

The key to this challenge didn’t come from some checklist like an identity in Christ list or an identity in Christ worksheet. Nope, it came through Scripture.

When we pick a passage and read it daily and pray over it, we internalize the Word of God. This is how you hide the Word in our hearts, meditating on it day and night. Just like Scripture tells us to do!

While a list or worksheet may be helpful to some, Scripture is helpful to all.

I want to challenge you today. Read Psalm 139 every day for the next month.

• Meditate on it.
• Think about it throughout the day.
• Pray it back to the Lord.
  • Ask Him to show you how He sees you!

I will get you started with some observations from my journal in that season.

Psalm 139 From NASB

“Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I get up;
You understand my thought from far away.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You know it all.
You have encircled me behind and in front,
And placed Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
Even darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.

For You created my innermost parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth;
Your eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in Your book were written
All the days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.

If only You would put the wicked to death, God;
Leave me, you men of bloodshed.
For they speak against You wickedly,
And Your enemies take Your name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate You, Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

Search me, God, and know my heart;
Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there is any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

(Psalm 139:1-24 NASB)

Search Me, Lord

Do you know yourself well, Tiffany?

Yes… but I don’t always like to admit it. For years I was blind to my own faults and quirks.  People around me tried to point them out but I ignored them.  ‘God made me that way,’ I would rationalize and they should just get used to it.

Did HE though?

No, God didn’t make me this way.  Many of those characteristics were chiseled into me by the depravity of a sin-filled world.  They were my coping mechanisms for surviving a life of trauma. 

• I put up my know-it-all side when I didn’t want to be hurt or feel dumb. 
• My people-pleasing personality came out when I needed to avoid a confrontation that might hurt.
• That a-type personality that can drive through a to-do list also drove away the people who loved me.

Related Post: Specific, Effective Prayer Strategies to change our lives

God Sees All The Beauty That Sin Broke

Know your identity in Christ.

It is such a simple Christian phrase, but it is filled with so much hope and potential. I asked God to show me my Identity, to search me and know me. This was one of the first times I had intentionally prayed Scripture and boy howdy, it changed my life!

As we work through this series on creating an effective prayer strategy, praying Scripture is key! It is the most powerful and effective prayer strategy I know!

As I prayed Psalm 139 I began to understand that God created me with a love of learning, but sin had twisted it into a hurtful tool to protect myself. 

That A-type personality also came from God to be used to administrate tasks and run an online ministry. In sin, I refused to forgive people in my life and it became twisted and turned into a tool to drive people away.

God had a plan when He knit me together in my mother’s womb. Sin took that plan and twisted my God-given identity into something ugly.

Praise God that He can make all things new!

Turn Psal 139 Into A Prayer

I have written Psalm 139 as a prayer below to help you on this journey of self-care and self-discovery. You can pray it now and know your identity in Christ.

Dear Lord,

You have searched me and known me.  You know when I sit down and when I get up; You even understand my thought from afar.  Yes, you examine my life every day as I walk the path, and You are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 

You know me better than I know myself

Before there is a word on my tongue, when it is still a thought in my mind, O Lord, You already know it all. 

You have enclosed me behind and before And laid Your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, and I cannot understand it. 

Where can I go from Your Spirit Lord? Or where can I run from Your presence?  If I climb as high as heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in the depths, You are even there.  Should I take the wings of the dawn, dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. 

Lord, even as I cry out, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,”  Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You – How can that be?  

Lord, You formed my inward parts

You wove me together by hand within my mother’s womb.  My life was planned and chosen by You.

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. 

Let me never forget that my frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. 

You know me, knew me and loved me in spite of all the mess of my life.  Thank You!

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How infinite is the sum of them!  If I tried to count them, they would outnumber the sand.  When I awake, I am still with You.  Praise You for never leaving me alone or forsaking me!

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. 

Mold me more into Your image this day.  Help me never forget Whose I am, Father.

Amen

Journal What God Says

I love to use a journal when I pray.  When I journal the prayers I get to mark answers, which builds my faith so much!  And Y’all, God does answer.  Write down the things He shows you He sees in you as you pray Psalm 139.

Your own personal journal will be better than anything you could find searching out, “my identity in Christ PDF”, I promise!

If you need a prayer journal, be sure to check out The Strategic Prayer Journal in the HopeJoyInChrist Shop!

Knowing Your Identity in Christ Will Change Your Life

I allowed the hurts of my past along with the depression and anxiety, to warp my identity. Have you?

There were so many wasted years stuck in the insecurity and fear of being hurt again. So many. Take heart, Dear Friend, nothing is ever broken too far beyond God’s reach and ability to heal.

God created you in His image. He has a plan for you. There is a calling and a purpose for your life.

The truth you need to hold onto as you search for your identity in Christ is that simple.

God created you.

God loves you.

You are His! 

He designed you and plotted out each and every part of your character and personality.  There is a reason you are the way you are.  Do you believe that?  Ask Him to show you.

Related Post: Overcome the 4 Lies About God

My Identity

Notice, that the first part is key, and keeping the first part the first thing is tough. I highly recommend in addition to Psalm 139 that you spend time finding your identity in Christ Ephesians style.

This is my identity in Christ list:

• Tiffany is a dearly loved child of God
  • A princess of the King of kings
  • Co-heir with Christ
  • Trusted with access to every Spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
• A wife
  • Cheerleader
  • Advisor
  • Lover
  • Encourager
• A mother
  • Homeschool mom
  • Special needs mom
  • Fierce advocate
• Prayer Warrior
  • Fighting for her mind
  • Interceding for her family
  • Begging for revival for the nations
• A fierce friend committed to sharpening and encouraging all who God allows in my circle
  • Avoider of small talk and unafraid to ask deep questions
• Gifted to write and teach and worship.
• Prone to lead and administrate.
• Avid reader and collector of more books than I’ll ever find time to read (much to my husband’s dismay)
• Lover of plants and being barefoot in the grass
• Practical
  • Always thinking a few steps ahead, planning for the worst while praying for the best

A Changed Life

Because I know who I am in Christ now, my life is forever changed. I don’t need the approval of others because I know God approves. I don’t have to wear myself out for everyone because I know what I am called to do.

There is so much freedom in knowing who I am and WHOSE I am. It allows me to serve from my giftings and in my calling and frees up space for others to step into the openings left where I don’t need to serve.

Knowing my identity allows me to breathe. When others unfairly criticize me or falsely accuse me I am unaffected (mostly) because I know who I am. Harsh words only hurt when they come from those who know me well now, whereas before every harsh word hurt.

There is freedom and purpose in this life! It can be yours…

Related Post: 3 Ways To Fight the Enemy for Freedom in Your Thoughts

The Opposition

We need to be reminded often of Whose we are. Praise God, our loving Father doesn’t mind keeping it fresh.

But here’s the thing… knowing who you are and Whose you are is not enough to live successfully in your calling and identity.

You have a real enemy. He doesn’t want you to operate out of your calling. He wants you stuck in your identity crisis.

The enemy wants to distract you and convince you that those pieces from this identity in Christ devotional are lies.  He wants to throw your past and the mistakes and pain in your face so you get stuck in guilt and shame.

That’s right, and if you fall for his schemes, he will go farther still. That lying snake would have you believe that your mess somehow disqualifies you from the calling Christ has on your lives.  But Y’all, that snake was defeated over 2000 years ago and has no authority over your life.

Stop. Listening. To. Him.

Anytime you start to doubt who you are and Whose you are, pray Psalm 139 again and be encouraged by God’s love for you!

Related Post: How To Identify and Overcome the Attacks of the Enemy in Your Home

Will You Walk in Your Identity in Christ and Find Freedom Today?

Freedom can be yours. You can know who you are and Whose you are.

Your identity in Christ is like mine in some ways but completely different in others. Will you seek it out today?

1. Know WHOSE you are and who He is.
2. Learn who He created you to be and the calling He has on your life.
3. Be prepared to fight the enemy for freedom!

I challenge you to begin today to pray Psalm 139 and see what God speaks into the space you are creating!

in HIM,

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