Are you struggling with deep questions about your identity? You might be trying to figure out who you are, really. This article is here to help you answer the question, “Who am I?” without simply reducing yourself to your job or your status. You know that you’re more than that. You were handcrafted by a loving God; you are not an accident. He is constantly thinking about you and is so excited that you’re reading this article. God wants to speak truth into your life and and show you who you are to him. What God says about your identity is what matters.
Today we will be discussing:
- What God Says About Your Identity is What Matters
- Bible Verses About Your Place In The World
- Bible Verses About Your Purpose
- Bible Verses About Your Personality
- How to Find My Identity in God
Your identity can be broken up into four aspects that are all related to one another
I call them the four “P”s:
- Place
- Purpose
- Personality
- Passions
Your “place” refers to your place in relationship to God and others. Your purpose is what God designed you to be and do. Your personality is a combination of your preferences and your unique behavior. Your passions are closely related to your personality, but they are deeper – they’re the invisible things you value, which fuel your decision making.
In this article, we’re going to examine several Bible verses that speak to each of these four aspects of identity. Know that each of these truths originates from God himself, and let him speak them to you personally as you read.
Bible Verses About Your Place In The World
For you (God) created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Psalm 139:13
- God is your creator. He was fully engaged in the act of creating you, specifically. He wasn’t distracted, and you weren’t an afterthought. You are God’s handcrafted creation.
. . . He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
Ephesians 1:4
- God chose you before he even created the world. Before the universe existed or you took your first breath, he had already chosen you. You are God’s chosen.
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Romans 8:16-17
- This verse refers to people who follow Jesus and have a relationship with him. If that’s you, then you are God’s beloved child and a co-heir with Christ. You share in his inheritance.
. . . as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
Isaiah 62:5
- Not only does God love you with a father’s love, but he actually loves you the way a bridegroom loves a bride. He enjoys pursuing you. You are God’s bride. What God says about your identity is what matters.
These four verses give you a picture of who you are to God – your “place” in relationship to him. Allowing these truths to sink deep into your heart will give you a strong sense of identity. If you know that your Creator values you and is close to you, your confidence will soar.
Bible Verses About Your Purpose
God blessed them (the first humans) and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.
Genesis 1:28
- When God created humans, his original design for them was to populate and rule the earth.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:10
- If you have a relationship with Jesus, you get to walk in what he has for you every day – a new day full of good things to do and see.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9
- Experiencing a relationship with God and being his “special possession” means that praise will overflow from you. You won’t be able to help it!
. . . you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:29-31
- In this verse Jesus is explaining the two greatest commandments. They are pretty simple: He just wants us to love God and love others. This is a deep love, the same pursuing love seen in Song of Solomon (1).
God created all humans with the original intent of letting them rule the earth. Now those who are in relationship with Christ Jesus get to participate in his rule. If we have a relationship with him, we also get to walk in the things he has for us – his “easy yoke” (Matthew 11:30) and we get to overflow with praise, which draws more people into relationship with him. At this point in history, Jesus asks us to love him and love others. These things make up our purpose in life.
Bible Verses About Your Personality
God knows your personality intimately! He knows your thoughts and what you’re about to say, and never once in the Bible does it say that your personality offends him. What God says about your identity is what matters.
There are lots of different personalities in the Bible. God loved all of them. He didn’t let people’s personalities get in the way of his plan for them. He involved all of these people in incredible stories that changed their lives forever – and made it into his book!
Abraham was adventurous, but was also a “believe it if I see it” kind of person.
When God called him on a journey, Abraham had never heard from God before. God asked him to leave his home land – and Abraham did it without hesitation! But later in life he had trouble believing that God would keep his promises. (Genesis 12 and 15)
Moses was shy and fearful, yet fierce.
He questioned God again and again when God recruited him to set the Israelites free from slavery. But he also fiercely defended one of his Israelite brothers by killing an Egyptian who was beating him. (Exodus 2 and 4)
Ruth was caring and loyal, even when people didn’t understand.
She stayed by her mother-in-law’s side when she (Naomi) had lost all familial support. God rewarded Ruth for her faithfulness by giving her a husband who loved and provided for her. (Ruth 1-4)
Peter was brash and reckless, but took Jesus at his word.
Peter cut off someone’s ear in a heated moment of trying to defend Jesus (Matthew 26:50-56). But he was also the disciple who walked on water because he trusted Jesus (Matthew 14:22-33).
Martha was organized and hardworking, but had a hard time with stillness.
She served Jesus by coordinating an elegant meal, and it became quite an event with all of the busy preparations. Her sister Mary was the complete opposite of her. Mary sat by Jesus’ feet while Martha did all of the work. To Martha’s shock, Jesus gently explained to her that he valued Mary’s closeness to him more than Martha’s hard work. (Luke 10:38-42)
Does one of these personalities resonate with you?
At the least, hopefully you can see that God is not only looking for a certain type of person. Your personality is a strong part of your identity because it was designed by God. That’s right, he carefully crafted your personality. You don’t have to be ashamed of it! God loves his relationship with you, because he can gently show you things he wants to work on, so that he can give you more freedom from things like fear and busyness. What God says about your identity is what matters.
Bible Verses About Your Passions
For zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
Psalm 69:9, a prophecy about Jesus
Our passions determine our decisions, both good and bad.
What we value most will shape our lives, and God knows this. When we are in relationship with him, he gently refines and molds our passions – trust me, he isn’t interested in simply taking them away. Passions are not bad in and of themselves – the verse above describes Jesus’ own passion for God’s house. While some of your passions might be misguided, there is probably something beneath the surface that God loves. Let’s look again at some of the people from before and examine what were (likely) their passions.
Abraham was passionate about discovery.
He willingly left his home land, trusting the promises of a God he’d never met. But his discovery didn’t stop there. He spent his life trying to discover who this God was and how he operated. When Abraham was growing old, he thought that perhaps God would fulfill his promise of giving Abraham many descendants, but that God would do it through Abraham’s servant Hagar (Genesis 16). Later Abraham discovered God’s character by testing the lengths of his mercy. Abraham asked God multiple times to spare a city that was doomed for God’s wrath. “What if there are fifty rigetous people in the city? Will you . . . not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?” Abraham asked (Genesis 18:23-24). And Abraham kept pleading, reducing the number from fifty to ten righteous people that would be grounds for God’s mercy on the city.
Ruth was passionate about family.
“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” These were Ruth’s words to Naomi, her mother-in-law. Ruth was loyal to her bloodline, even if Naomi was only her mother-in-law, and even when Ruth’s sister-in-law Orpah left them. Ruth didn’t try to find a husband outside of her extended family, but she married Boaz, who was a “guardian-redeemer” for widows like Ruth. God rewarded Ruth’s passion for family by placing her in the genealogy of Jesus himself. What God says about your identity is what matters.
Martha was passionate about doing the right thing.
She called Jesus her “Lord” and voluntarily opened her home to him as he was passing through. She saw something in Jesus that she wanted for herself, but in order to get close to him, she thought that she had to go through traditional and cultural avenues. Preparing a meal for Jesus was practical, of course – everyone needs to eat – but it sounds like she was overworking herself and perhaps trying to make it a display of her ability. Conforming to cultural norms had always seemed to be the right thing for Martha, but now she was dealing with a very abnormal man. Jesus used this moment to show her “what is better” – simply sitting at his feet (Luke 10:42).
My Identity in God
God does not want to leave you wandering in the dark when it comes to your identity. The simple question, “Who Am I?” can be overwhelming, but these truths from the Bible are here to help you understand your place, purpose, personality, and passion. If you are in relationship with Jesus, then these four aspects of your identity are deeply rooted in him. You are like the tree in Psalm 1, “which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.”
SOURCES
- https://biblehub.com/greek/26.htm
