Joy, Love, & Positivity Episode 2: Remember who you are!

“Simba! Remember who you are!”

Some of you may have recognized that line from the classic Disney movie, The Lion King. This scene takes place after Simba had gotten the news of what had happened to his homeland after his Uncle Scar rose to power. Still dealing with the trauma and fear of his past, he refuses to go back and free his home from Scar’s tyranny.

As he looks to the starry night sky he sees his deceased father in the clouds who begins to speak to him. Mournfully, he declares to Simba, “You have forgotten who you are, so you have forgotten me”. As Simba states that he cannot go back to save his home because he is not who he used to be, his father ends his speech on this famous line,

“Remember who you are.”

Learning our identity

The topic of identity is often overlooked but so integral to the shaping of our lives. Identity controls every part of our thoughts, actions, and personality. Everything we do stems from what we identify as whether consciously or subconsciously. The problem that I have noticed is many believe they are born with an unchangeable identity.

You are either a good kid or a bad kid.

You are artistic or you are logical.

You are kind or you are angry.

Blue or Pink?

Furthermore, if our upbringing cultivates certain traits in us, we take on those coping mechanisms and trauma responses as our identity.

The Shift

Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Cor. 6:11 NLT

Then the shift happens. We give our lives to Christ, we get baptized, we are filled with His Spirit, and we start experiencing a new life. For most of us, that initial identity shift feels amazing. We miraculously stop wanting to indulge in our old habits, addictions, and behaviors. We start reading our Word and praying like mad men. We attend every church service our car can drive to.

In the understanding that our identities have changed, we begin to walk according to who know we are.

Children of God

Lost Identity

Yet, for some of us, the shininess of our new lives in Christ fades over time. Our old indulgences begin to rear their ugly heads. The old thought processes that we hadn’t experienced in a while start to become natural again. The good fight no longer feels good. It’s just a fight void of purpose and victory. So, we question ourselves.

“Was I really saved?”

“Why do I still struggle with this addiction.”

“Why do I feel so anxious all the time? I know God told me not to be anxious but I can’t help it!”

“Maybe I’m just not good at the christianity thing. Everyone else seems to get it.”

“I’m tired of denying myself! It feels to good and it’s helped me in the past. Why can’t God just take away the urges?”

You begin to realize, sin still feels natural. Almost too natural.

To the point where you begin to question who you are. And when you find yourself with more spiritual losses than wins, and that “more than a conqueror” identity you were supposed to receive seems more like a fluke, we resign ourselves to our fate.

We either fully take back our old identity or we try to retain some of our new identity while constantly struggling to believe God’s Word. After all, how can God call me an overcomer when I can’t even overcome myself?

Remember Who You Are!

This struggle is not foreign to me. My change came similar to Simba (minus the glowy lights and clouds). God reminded me to remember who I was.

…

And that word, at the time, went right over my head.

I know who I am. Those identity issues are behind me. I’m in my mid 20s, not high school! That is where I was wrong.

We walk in what we identify with.

If I identify with being a athlete, I will eat like an athlete, train like an athlete, and live a life that is centered around this identity. If I Identify as a lazy person, even without direct acknowledgement, I will live my life in laziness. The confusion sets in when we act apart from our believed identity.

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

1 John 3:1-3 NLT

Simply put, you have to believe what God says you are.

Yes, you are still struggling. And still God says you can resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Yes, you struggle to read the bible more than some of your Christian counterparts. God’s command to bind his teachings around our neck did not change.

We no longer identify with the flesh, but that does not mean our natural desires went away. Now, we must choose to walk in our new identity as a follower of Christ and a Child of God. We have to stop believing who we are and what we are capable of based on what we feel we can do. We know what we can do based on what our new identity in Christ commands of us.

We Must Choose

So here is the real question.

Do you believe God is telling the truth or is He a liar?

Did He lie when He said seeking His kingdom first and living righteously will ensure all of our needs will be met by Him¹? If you believe He is telling the truth, then you have to walk in that knowledge by being intentional about seeking Him.

Maybe you feel that He couldn’t be telling the truth about ensuring we would not dash our foot against a stone or about treading upon the lion and the cobra². If you believe He is telling the truth, then you have to walk in faith and not allow fear to grip you any longer.

Identity is not just what we believe, it’s what we choose to do based on what we believe.

There are plenty of people who identify as kind and loving. However, their choices prove that identity to be false. You can’t solely hope and think you are a child of God. You need to make conscious decisions every day to move according to your new identity. You are still a child of God, but you will be a very confused and conflicted Child of God if you do not live accordingly.

That means suffering sometimes.

That means struggling against your old nature.

That means praying often and making intentional time to read the Bible.

That means finding a body of believers to grow with.

When we choose to walk in our identity, the evidence of our fruit will begin to show. Not only can we firmly stand in the truth of our identity, but no one else can deny our evidence.

Walk in your identity friends.

With Love,

The Road Writer

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