Your who changes your do.
“Who you think you are drives your behavior.” Craig Groeschel
“…it’s critically important for you to know who you are.”
3 Places We Get Our Identity
- What others think of us
- Our worst sins or habits
- Our Enemy
Where we tend to get our identity
What others think of us
“We tend to define ourselves by what we believe influential people in our lives think about us. Psychologists call it the ‘looking-glass self.’ We see ourselves through the eyes of others. We let those people define us, but that is not who we are.”
Our worst sins or habits
“We can also define ourselves by our worst sins or habits.”
Example:
I’m an addict
I’m an anxious person
- Our Enemy
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:8 NLT
“His primary target is your identity. He knows how essential your self-perception is, so he lies to you about who you are.”
That’s why:
•After you yell at your kids, you think, I’m a bad parent.
•When you don’t get the job, you think, I’m pathetic. I never get any breaks.
•When you realize you didn’t read your Bible or pray again
this week, you think, I’m a bad Christian.
Identity Statements and Bible Verses
• Sought after (Isa. 62:12)
• Precious in his sight (Isa. 43:4)
• A new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17)
• Not condemned (Rom. 8:1)
• Forgiven (Col. 1:14)
• Loved (1 John 3:1)
• Accepted (Rom. 15:7)
• A child of God (John 1:12)
• Jesus’ friend (John 15:14)
• Free (John 8:36)
• The temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19)
• God’s treasured possession (Deut. 7:6)
• Complete in Christ (Col. 2:10 NLT)
• Chosen (Col. 3:12)
• Called (2 Tim. 1:9)
• An ambassador of the Most High God (2 Cor. 5:20)
• God’s masterpiece (Eph. 2:10 NLT)
• Able to do all things through Christ, who gives you strength (Phil. 4:13)
• More than a conqueror through Jesus, who loves you (Rom. 8:37)
Exercise
In this exercise, let’s identify some of the voices that have accused you and told you things about yourself that are not true.
Has someone in your family or some other close relationship consistently told you something that you have come to believe about yourself–even though it is not based in truth?
List those lies.
Next, list any accusations you consistently repeat about yourself that are not on your list of lies, whether or not you know their origin.
Which of the identity statements and Bible verses listed in this chapter stood out to you? Write out why you feel that statement and verse (or verses) speak to you.
Principle
You are who God says you are.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
-1 John 3:1
Sources:
[1] Groeschel, C. (2023). The Power to Change: Mastering the Habits That Matter Most. Zondervan.
