IDENTITY {part 2}

By Susan Stedman

The previous blog post spoke of the process of learning my true identity in Christ. It addressed listening to the “accuser of the brethren” and how to stop believing what he said. This one will help you to use your Sword of the Word to defeat him.

I have now experienced peace. Real, true, soul-deep peace. I never believed in that kind of peace in all my years. I had heard about it and I had read about it in my Bible, but I had never felt it. Sometimes I cried for it, or begged God for it, all the time not realizing that He had already given it to me, I just couldn’t believe and accept it. Last week, I accepted it.

It was not easy. I have read about it all my life, but there were too many voices whispering in my ear that I listened to instead of God’s voice. They were coming from people around me. God was trying to come from inside, and I had never been able to believe there was anything good inside me. But the Bible says, 
1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?” Just typing that gave me chills because it is something I had never considered.

God gave us promises all throughout His word and He tells us to try them. In Malachi 3, God says to test Him in this, one of His promises. Isaiah 55:11 ESV, “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;  it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose  and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

To experience true, God-sent peace, you have to believe the promises He has given you. Yes, He gave them to you, just the same as He gave them to everyone else. You only have to believe and accept His words. I am listing some of my favorite ones that have helped change my life as I grasp them.

You are saved. Romans 10:9 ESV, “…because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

You are forgiven. 1 John 2:12 NKJV, “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.”

You are a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[a] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
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You are a child of God. 1 John 3:1 ESV, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.”

You are redeemed. Ephesians 1:17 ESV, “ In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”

You are justified. Romans 5:1 ESV, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
You are safe in Christ. Colossians 3:3 ESV, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

You are victorious. 1 Corinthians 15:57 ESV, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

You are not condemned. Romans 8:1 ESV, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” 

You are not alone. Isaiah 41:10 ESV, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;  I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

You are assured a good end. Jeremiah 29:11 ESV, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[a] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

You are strong. Isaiah 40:31 ESV, “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

These are promises. These won’t be broken. God does not tell us lies. Hebrews 6:18 ESV, “…so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”

Once, several years ago, while I was praying because I had again let myself give in to fear, God showed me that if the promises He made and kept to His servants throughout the years in the Bible were true, then every promise that He gave us in the Bible were also true. 

When you feel doubt, and you most likely will, remember the Roman soldier who asked Jesus to heal his daughter.
Mark 9:23-24 ESV “And Jesus said to him, all things are possible for one who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”