Finding Your True Self

 

By Andrea Merrell

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;

old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

 

My friend and I were discussing the past, which brought up a plethora of memories—many good, others not so much.

I thought about the struggles I faced in those earlier years with fear. Low self-esteem. Anger. Trying desperately to fit in. I was, as they say, a hot mess.

Fortunately, I hardly recognize that person any longer. In a way, it’s like she never existed. It’s hard to look back and try to remember her at all because so much has changed.

The Bible explains it as becoming a new creation in Christ. The old passes away, and everything becomes new. The Passion translation puts it like this:

Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new person. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.

During those rough years, I had no clue who I was. I constantly searched for my identity, my true self. And it was only found when I realized who I am in Christ. How He sees me. What He says about me in His Word. Once I surrendered completely to Him, my life changed dramatically and I became, just as the Bible says, an entirely new person.

If you’re searching to find your true self, stop looking in all the wrong places. Your worth, your identity, and all that you were created to be is found only in Christ.

Photo by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash

Leave the Past Where It Belongs

 

By Andrea Merrell

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.

The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

 

“Don’t be like the Israelites,” the speaker said. “God led the whole crew out of Egypt in a day—out of the bondage of slavery and abuse. But because they were not willing to fully accept their deliverance and freedom, they wandered in the desert for forty years instead of entering the Promised Land within a few days.”

The woman beside me shivered and stared at the floor as the speaker went on to say, “If you are a child of God, you have been redeemed. Forgiven. Set free. You are a new creation. A brand new person in Christ Jesus. It’s time to let go of your past so you can move forward.

The woman looked at me with tears streaming down her face. “How do I do that?”

My heart broke as I tried to comfort her, especially knowing that so many of us have asked that same question. How do I do that? How do I let go of past sins? Guilt? Shame? Condemnation? How do I walk in the freedom Christ Jesus paid for?

The Word for You Today says:

If you are in Christ, you’re no longer defined by what you’ve done wrong; you’re defined by what Christ has done right on your behalf. You are a new creation, but sometimes it takes time for your new nature to become second nature.

The Bible clearly tells us that when we belong to the Lord, we become new creations—a brand new person. Our new life begins, and the old life fades away.

If you’re bound by the past and struggling to become that new person God created you to be, give yourself time to let your new nature become second nature, as natural as your next breath. Let go of your past and leave it where it belongs—in the past!

Photo by Greg Jewett on Unsplash

Three Keys to Finding Your True Self

 

By Andrea Merrell

By His divine power, God has given us everything we need 

for living a godly life.  2 Peter 1:3-4 NLT

For so many years of my life, I struggled with a lack of self-worth. I became a people-pleaser, trying to fit in and gain approval from those I thought had it all together. It was a miserable journey, going nowhere.

When I finally realized and embraced who I am “in Christ,” my perspective changed—along with everything else in my life.

We can search for a lifetime and never find our true identity, always comparing ourselves to others and always feeling less than. Here are three keys to turn that around:

Stop speaking negative words to and about yourself. 

Focus on your strengths instead of your weaknesses. Don’t obsess over your flaws and keep putting yourself down. Change your self-talk.

Don’t compare yourself to others. 

We’re all created by God as special, unique individuals with different gifts, talents, and abilities. We can learn from others, be inspired and encouraged by them, but we should never be envious or want to be someone or something we were never created to be. Be thankful for who you are and who you are becoming.

Find out what God says about you in His Word. 

Let His opinion become your confession. Here are a few to get you started:

• I am a redeemed child of the living God.
• I am forgiven.
• I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
• I am a new creation in Christ.
• I am loved with an everlasting love.
• I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
• I am seated in heavenly places.
• I have the mind of Christ.

Knowing who you are—and what you have—in Christ makes all the difference. You are fully seen, fully known, and fully loved. 

And that’s enough.

 

 Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and gubgib.