Have you ever witnessed an identity crisis? Maybe you've seen someone struggle with dementia or alzheimers and just feel sorry for them. Maybe you've seen someone suffer from a psychological disorder that causes that person to think they have multiple personalities, and you wonder how life can be so cruel. We sit and we think about how hard it must be for them. How hard it is for that person to lose who they are, where they've been, or what made them the person you knew them to be. Honestly, I think we've all had an identity crisis of our own. Take away school, your job, your family, your friends, your mistakes, your failures, and all the things that give you a name and what are you left with?
So, let's talk. What makes you who you are? What defines you? What establishes you to be who you say you are? Is it the clothes you wear or the people you hang out with? Is it the mistakes you've made along the way? Is it the words that the people around you use to describe you? What makes you (fill in the blank)? Maybe you're struggling right now knowing who you are because someone has questioned your integrity and character, or maybe you're like me and you are far away from the things you've always known to be a part of you. Maybe you've never tapped into the well that provides what you've been looking for. I know exactly how you feel because I can honestly say I've walked through each of those phases of confusion.
At times in my life I thought I knew exactly who I was and at other times I had no idea how to even describe myself. I let the things I was doing and the groups I was part of define me. When those things fall away, what was I left with? I was a "high school student" 5 years ago, but graduation rolled around and I could no longer claim that title. I was a "dancer" for 15 years of my life, but when life got too busy it didn't seem right to claim that name again. I was a "pageant queen" when I was competing in the Miss Alabama Scholarship Organization, but who's a beauty queen with no crown? I was considered an "artist" in schoo,l but then I graduated college and got straight to the real world with little time to create, so that title didn't seem to fit. Now, I'm over 400 miles from everything I've known and I've found myself questioning what makes me, well ME.
In the midst of the turmoil that has been warring inside of me I was reminded of a constant this week. As I was scrolling social media at some point, someone I look up to greatly, posted "The grass withers, and the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." (Isaiah 40:8) That verse brought so much peace to my spirit because I was gently reminded of the verse that I had long ago declared over my life. In high school, I lived by that verse daily because I finally realized that I find myself in Him, not the things I did or the people I hung out with. I recently lost sight of that because I started letting titles take over my heart. God has such a sweet way of reminding us of who He is and who He says we are. This week I was reminded that no title this earth could ever give us was meant to last forever, but even better, the words that our God have spoken over us will last forevermore.
God has sweetly reminded me that my purpose is The SOUL Purpose. He has fully equipped me and prepared me to remind every girl I come in contact with, no matter what age, that she is made by the maker of the stars and skies. No job, person, thing, or place could ever give me a title like the Waymaker. This calling is eternal, not earthly. This calling is infinite, not temporary. This calling is divine, not manmade.
So, maybe I'm not a high school student, dancer, artist, or beauty queen. What if I'm all of those things and more? What if the "titles" I've been given have led to and molded the title the miracle worker has granted me. What if all of those titles led to who God says I am?CHOSEN, LOVED, WORTHY, STRONG, COURAGEOUS, BEAUTIFUL, CALLED, FREE, HIS.
The truth is, when you know your identity in Christ, then everything you do points back to the title HE has given you. All the titles the world gives you will point back to Him every time. Your identity in Him can't be taken away from you. When you find Him, you find yourself, and when you find yourself, you find The SOUL Purpose in your life.
Remind someone else of who God says they are this week. Share this post on your stories and feeds to feed someone else's SOUL. When you feel you've lost yourself, remind yourself of who He says you are.