How Adversity Can Reveal Your Identity And Release Your Best Gifts Into The WorldExemplo

Live by a New Creed

The hand that spins the galaxies brought me into being.

 The One who holds the stars has made me his own…

One autumn morning I walked to a café, took a window table on the third floor, and pulled out my journal. I wanted to craft a statement—a creed of sorts—that would pull together everything I’d learned during my pilgrimage and through my writing. 

I am a pilgrim in this world, in search of wisdom and wonder.

I will take new adventures.

And follow God into the unknown…

I wanted to capture what matters most into something I could read regularly to guide me forward. After many scribbled phrases and crossings out, I arrived at The Creed, which you can hear in the video above.

I will step in the direction of my strengths and talents.

 They are Spirit-given tools for my God-given tasks…

Had life gone smoothly I would never have written it, missing out on the lessons that will now shape my future.

Pause for Reflection

What line in The Creed catches your attention today? Why do you think this is?

Would you write it any differently for your own life?

Today’s Reading

As mentioned at the beginning of this devotional journey, most of us will ask the Who am I? and What am I here for? questions more than once in our lives. While your answers might look different to mine in detail, they will be answered best when built on a common spiritual base. In Ephesians 5:1-2 the apostle Paul give us that base.

What is our mission in life? It can be summed up in three phrases: Follow God’s example (5:1). Like flowers growing towards the sun, we need a model to imitate to become all we’re meant to be. We follow God’s example by being as kind, compassionate and forgiving as he’s been to us (4:32). This is the call to character. As dearly loved children (5:1). Before there is any dream to pursue or accomplishment to achieve, we are to simply rest in God’s love. This is the call to identity. And walk in the way of love (5:2). The sacrificial love we’ve received we now offer to others. This is the call to love, one that will shapeevery task we do. Together these verses encapsulate everything in The Creed.

Which of these phrases do you need to grow in?

How would your life be different if you did nothing but live out these verses for a year?

Based on everything we’ve explored together, who does God wish you to become?

I’ve enjoyed this five-day journey together, and look forward to more. Maybe it’s in losing an identity that we discover who we really are. Maybe the adversity we face can release our best gifts into the world. Maybe life going wrong can be the making of us—and of you.

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You can download a print version of The Creed plus a personalization guide at https://sheridanvoysey.com/thecreed to continue the journey.