We are called to live a worthy life. A life that is worthy of the Lord, worthy of the call and worthy of the Gospel. But what exactly does that entail? And is it achievable?

If you’d never been born, well then what would you be? You might be a fish! Or a toad in a tree!... Or worse than all that…Why, you might be a WASN’T A Wasn’t has no fun at all. No, he doesn’t. A Wasn’t just isn’t. He just isn’t present.

But you…you ARE YOU! And, now isn’t that pleasant!... Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! Shout loud, “I am lucky to be what I am! Thank goodness I’m not just a clam or a ham Or a dusty old jar of sour gooseberry jam!... I am what I am! That’s a great thing to be! If I say so myself, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!” "

—Dr Seuss, Happy Birthday to Me!, 1959

God created each of us with an eternal and specific purpose in mind. He has a good future for us that He planned from the beginning. The purpose and plans God has for us were specifically planned for each of us, not our neighbor, friend or colleague. We can’t fulfill their destiny and they can’t fulfill ours. We were born by His purpose and for His purpose.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart. —Jeremiah 1:5

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. —Psalm 139:16

We have a choice. We can either align ourselves and thereby identify with what is said about us and what the world thinks of us, or we can identify with Jesus. Jesus was secure because He knew His destiny. He said He knew who He was because He knew where He came from and where He was going. That is, He identified Himself with His Father.

“Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going.” —John 8:14

Paul was also confident in Christ. He had a past, but he knew he was acceptable to God in Christ and therefore did not let himself come under condemnation. “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself" (1 Corinthians 4:3).

Remember the fairytale The Ugly Duckling? Just like the farm animals failed to see the Ugly Duckling’s potential and opted to judge him based on his outward appearance, today we are often tempted to do the same based purely on the natural realm. We can judge and be judged based on appearance, ability, education, status. But God knows what hidden treasure and potential He has placed in us.

Our identity is misplaced when we look to ourselves and others to answer the questions of who we are. What results is a very self-biased point of view. We act and respond to people according to who we think we are. Words spoken to us, if we let them, become part of us. Without an appreciation of who we are in Christ we will likely undervalue and therefore undersell ourselves, have low self esteem, and we will attract what we think we deserve. We need to focus on what God’s Word says about us, not what other people think and say about us.

When we place our identity in our physical appearance we are vulnerable. Vulnerable to growing old, to those more attractive to us and vulnerable to what others think of our appearance. When our security is in our assets we will be swayed when someone has more. Today, the world is driven into debt as people seek to sustain their identity in assets in the search for happiness and fulfillment, acceptance and approval by others. Insecurity comes when we focus on our have-nots, weaknesses and flaws instead of focusing on God.

When the people saw a shepherd boy, God saw a king. When people saw a common fisherman, God saw the rock upon which He would build His Church. The Lord looks on us in our finished state. His perspective of us is eternity. When He speaks to us it is as finished, not as we are now. He calls us out, just like He called Gideon into his destiny by claiming him as a man of valor. When we know who we are in Christ, we then are secure regardless of our position. That is certainly something to celebrate!!!!

Copyright © by Philippa Smyth Share