We all have three images of identity.
Aug 15, 2022
If your fear and insecurity are tied to your Identity ...
Along with your courage and confidence ... you're headed for a crisis.
We all have three images of identity.
But two of them are false. 👇
#1 - Projected Image - How you want others to see you
#2 - Perceived Image - How others see you
#3 - Actual Image - Who I am
Deep inside everyone is a need and drive for significance.
- A craving to be known
- To have influence
- To excel
- To be respected
- To be important
- To be acknowledged
- To have a name
- To leave a legacy
We all fear a shallow existence.
- A life that amounts to nothing
- Doing a bunch of work that goes unnoticed
- We want purpose
- We want greatness
- Even the disciples argued about who was the greatest
- And in sports, business, and entertainment ... it's about who’s the best, the top dog, the king
But when your identity is shaped around your projected or perceived image, you unknowingly create a false identity that will fold like a house of cards — when adversity strikes.
When you have someone that doesn’t know who they are, everything they do will be an effort to try to make themselves into something to create their own identity.
They will devote every effort to become a person of significance, instead of understanding that they are already significant.
True identity comes from our creator, God. When you become a Christ-follower, He gives you a new Identity that doesn't change with your circumstances.
Joseph's identity and marketplace calling didn't change in the pit, prison or the palace.
If you lose your job ... it doesn't change
If you lose your business ... it doesn't change
If you lose your marriage ... it doesn't change
If you lose your money ... it doesn't change
Even if you become rich and famous ... it doesn't change
>> If you put your identity in what you can do instead of who God says you already are, then you’ll be on this perpetual cycle trying to earn approval and gain something that you already have.
1 Peter 2:9 (NIV) - But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Instead of a sinner, you are now called a child of God
Instead of lost, you are called found
Instead of enemy, you are called friend
Instead of unrighteous, you are called righteous
Instead of sick, you are called healed
Instead of poor, you are called rich
>> Your identity is not found in what you do.
>> Your identity is found in who God says you are.
There is nothing you can do to change your identity, because your identity is already established (as a believer).
It’s not about trying to manage who you were. It’s about learning to live out who you have become.
-Gerald
