The Hero. The Villain. The Girl. : Find Your Identity in God

The Hero. The Villain. The Girl. 1

Find Your Identity in God (The Hero)

by Daniel Carandang

No one wants to be left out.

Let's face it. Everyone wants to belong somewhere. We want to be identified within a group that's cool and belongs within the IN society. We want to be accepted. We don't want to be that lonely looking kid who's mocked and ignored by the majority.

Kal-El was one such kid.

Before he was the well-adored Superman, he was just some homely kid misunderstood by others.

His gifts were not accepted in the world he was forced to live in. His mind-reading capabilities caused his classmates to taunt him as a weirdo. His super strength left an impression on the parents of the student body that he wasn't normal. Even the bullies of the class mocked him for what he could do. 

Sometimes, we feel just like him. We think that we always have to prove ourselves to everyone for them to accept who we are. We have this need to belong, this hunger to possess an identity. We want to be valued and to be loved. There are a number of peer groups that we'd like to take part in. Varsities hold the athlete status that would most likely boost our egos in the school. When one joins a fraternity, we want to be identified as tough and we're after that need for security. Organizations provide the need to be respected and belonging.

Where do you get YOUR identity?

Who is defining YOU?

There's nothing wrong with joining organizations and varsities but when what they are is what defines you, you are willing to do anything that will keep you within their reach, to avoid anything that will disassociate you from them. Any compromise, just to let you stay.

You allow yourself to be hazed. You submit to vices just to belong within the group.

Guys and girls, if we don't have a right understanding of our identity, we will most likely end up with the wrong choices and painful consequences. Sometimes, these consequences are not only directed towards us but also to those we love who loves us. Our understanding of our identity causes an impact in the way we live.

We only have 2 choices for our source of identity:

God

or

The World

We have to choose. Do we listen to who the world thinks we are? Or to who God says we are?

God is our maker. Since He is the one who crafted us with His own hands, it's obvious that He knows us better than anyone. It is in Him where we should find who we are. 

Let's imagine for a sec that you have a new Mac Pro. In order for you to figure out how everything works and what the device is for, you need to find the instruction manual provided by the maker. The Bible is our life manual. It contains knowledge on who we are and what we're really made for. 

One great sample with regards to our identity is Psalm 139.

This Psalm was written by King David of Israel. It contains praises that celebrates God's omnipresence and omniscience. It also contains the truth, what we need to know about ourselves.

I. You are God's masterpiece

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 

My frame was not hidden from You, 

When I was made in the secret place,

When I was woven together from the depths of the earth

Psalm 139:14,15

According to the world's standards, good-looking people should possess fit and sexy bodies, long shiny hairs, 10 pack abs (or even more), and long eyelashes.

But for God, who you already are is more than beautiful in His eyes. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are His masterpiece. When we say fearfully, that means to cause astonishment and awe. Wonderfully- to be distinct, set apart....distinguished. God's works are wonderful- difficult to understand. God did not miss a thing when we were created that is why He knows every little detail. 

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

The Mona Lisa is DaVinci's greatest masterpiece. It's so precious that the artwork causes millions of dollars. If you don't understand it's worth, you are most likely to use the Mona Lisa as your vegetable chopping board. Same applies to us. If we don't understand our worth or choose to believe the world's opinion, we will just waste our lives. 

Girls, you should know that you are worth preserving. If the world tells you that you should flaunt more of it just to be beautiful, don't listen to it. You are worth waiting for so don't just give yourself to anyone at any time.

II. You were never an accident.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;
All the days ordained for me were written in Your book
before one of them came to be

Psalm 139:16

The world says that if you're not a rich, super handsome young man or a sexy model/actress, you're just another face in the crowd.

Not with God.

You were never an accident. You were born because you have a purpose.

Take Nick Vuijicic for example. He was born with no arms nor limbs. From the looks of it, he was going to grow up doing nothing but being depressed. But he proved us wrong. He showed us that God does have a purpose for people like him. Now, he's serving as a testimony for thousands who are just like him.

You're not just another face in the crowd nor a waste of space. For God, you have a special purpose in this life.

III. You are deeply loved.

How precious to me are Your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! 

Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— 

when I awake, I am still with You.

  Psalm 139:17, 18 

To the world, you're just a nobody if you don't prove yourself. You don't matter cause you're just you.

However, God thinks otherwise.

You matter to Him. God's thoughts about you are precious and endless in number. He loves you because He made you but the sad fact is, we allow ourselves to be blinded by the world to realize that there is Someone out there who knows our worth.

You're special in His eyes.

In order to prevent yourself from being blinded by the world's lies, cultivate your relationship with God. Love Him back because He deserves it! He loved us when we were so unlovable. Be secure in His love for you. He allows things to happen to you because He wants you become stronger, more SUPER in this life, as you shine for Him. 

Just like Kal-El, you might be feeling worthless today but just you wait-

For God intended you for something...SUPER.

Written by: Ashley Petallano (c) 2013