A New Identity

Did you know that you’re a masterpiece, created by God for a specific, amazing purpose? He loves you more than you can imagine, and I want so much for you to know Him and live as the child of God that you are.

Part of the reason I’m so passionate about this is because there was a time in my life when I had no idea who I was. I knew I was Joyce… I knew I was Dave’s wife… I knew I was a teacher of God’s Word, but I still saw myself through the filter of my past.

From as early as I could remember until I left home at 18 years old, I had been sexually, verbally, emotionally and physically abused by my father. As I carried this pain into my adult life, I ended up having an extremely messed up self-image. Because I didn’t believe anyone could love me, I was negative all the time, easily frustrated, and just unhappy with my life.

Have you ever felt the same way? Like you didn’t measure up, weren’t good enough, or couldn’t be loved? Or maybe you got hung up on comparing yourself to other people?

That’s exactly what life used to be like for me—until I had a lightbulb moment. One day as I was reading my Bible, I came across 2 Corinthians 5:7...

For we walk by faith, not by sight (ESV).

I had read this verse countless times before, but on this particular day, I heard the Holy Spirit ask me a question: Joyce, what do you believe about your relationship with Me? Do you believe I really love you?

And in that moment, I realized I didn’t.

I was living by sight—what I could see based on everything I had been through. If you’re in that place right now, my heart (and more importantly, God’s heart) is to see you live by faith—to truly understand and receive His never-ending love for you.

This was the beginning of a process where I slowly but surely began to realize who I am in Christ and how much He loves me. I started to see the truth: that I am more than what happened to me, I am more than what others think… I am who God says I am.

And so are you!

You may not always feel that way—there will be times when hard days or painful memories cause you to question your worth. But when your heart is full of God’s Word, the truth about who you are in Him will become so real that you’ll be able to override those doubts.

Here are a few examples of what that can look like:

• When someone says something hurtful, you can decide to ignore those words and remind yourself that you are deeply precious to God, and nothing can ever change or cancel out His love for you (Romans 8:38-39).

• When circumstances tell you you’re not going to make it, you can choose to remember God’s faithfulness to you, and thank Him in advance for doing it again (2 Thessalonians 3:3; 2 Timothy 2:13).

• When someone reminds you of a past mistake, or the enemy attacks you with thoughts of guilt or condemnation, you can remember that you’ve been made right with God (2 Corinthians 5:21), and He’s promised to give you the strength to make right decisions (Philippians 2:13).

Until I realized that Jesus came so I couldhave life, and have it to the full (John 10:10 NIV), I didn’t realize what was available to me through my relationship with Him. But as I grew to understand what it means to be IN CHRIST by intentionally filling my heart with truth, I began to see myself the way He sees me and started living out the promises He’s given us in His Word.

If you’ll do your part, God will do His. He is always faithful!

And just like He did for me, God will transform your entire outlook on life. Joy will come pouring in. Your peace will become unshakeable. Your relationships will grow healthier. I’m believing that as you dive into what He says about who He created you to be, you’ll begin to see breakthrough in every area of your life!

Next Step:

Be intentional about getting God’s Word in you. This week, start to rewire the way you see yourself by reading and speaking out the truth of God’s Word. You can find a list of scriptures about your identity in Christ to get you started here:

https://joycemeyer.org/InChrist