Adulting Ain't Easy: A 7-Day Reading Plan for 20-SomethingsSample

Who Am I, Really?

You are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do His work and speak out for Him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference He made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. I PETER 2:9 THE MESSAGE

Chase was mad. She was mad at her computer. She was mad at her boss. She was mad at herself. She was even mad at her cat! (Who, for the record, had done nothing but sleep all day!) Chase had just spent two hours on a video call with her boss and fellow employees. Every suggestion she’d made had been completely ignored. She had given fantastic ideas! At least, she’d thought so. Why was no one listening to her? Why did they always take the ideas of the one person who talked the loudest and the most? Why did they always seem to ignore her?

Chase slumped deeper into her couch and deeper into feelings of being unnoticed, unheard, and unvalued. It’s hard when you feel like you have worthwhile things to contribute, only to be dismissed or, even worse, completely ignored. The more we ruminate over those feelings, the more the feelings seep into our identities. But no matter how people make us feel, they can’t determine our identities.

Jesus is the one who sets our identities. And the identities He’s placed in us are good. The Bible points out over and over how God sees us. You are a child of God (John 1:12); you have been chosen and set apart (I Peter 2:9); you are fully accepted by God (Romans 15:7); you are a conqueror (Romans 8:37); you are completely loved (I John 3:1–2); you have a purpose (Jeremiah 29:11) . . . just to mention a few! Knowing who we are in Jesus helps to keep us rooted and grounded so that when hard days come, we can stand firm in our identities. We can stand tall, even if we might get overlooked or ignored. When we truly believe we are who God says we are, we can have confidence that will never be shaken, no matter what comes our way.

MY IDENTITY ISN’T FORMED BY WHAT OTHERS THINK OF ME; IT’S FORMED BY JESUS.

Jesus, thank You for telling me over and over in Your Word who I am. Help me to believe what You say about me. Help me to build my life on what You say is true.