I have asked many people the question, “Who are you?” Their response, at first, is always the same, “What do you mean?”

Then, some respond by saying what they do.

• I’m a doctor.
• I’m an athlete.
• I’m a business owner.

Others reply by talking about family.

• I’m a parent.
• I’m a grandparent.
• I’m a husband or wife.

These are good, solid answers. Some would say they are healthy ones but they don’t fully answer the question. We seek the temporary to define who we are, and we lose our identity when the temporary falls apart. Think about it.

• If our identity is in our healthy financial portfolio but we lose it all with the stock market’s collapse, we lose ourselves.
• If our identity is in our fitness and beauty but traumatic health issues challenge us, we can fall into deep despair.
• If our identity is anchored in our marriage and family, but we experience divorce or loss, we can feel utterly alone.

We are in an identity crisis, and it has become an epidemic.

That’s why we must look past the temporary and seek the eternal for our identity. Our identity can only be solidified in the eternal. That means we need to find our identity in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

God is immutable. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is our solid Rock. People-pleasing and codependency have no power over us when our identity is in Him. I can say with confidence, “I am because of the great I AM.”

I hold onto eleven “I am” statements that help me keep my identity solid in Jesus.

• I am a new creation.
• I am a child of God.
• I am wanted by God.
• I am chosen by God.
• I am royalty.
• I am holy.
• I am known by God.
• I am a temple of God.
• I am understood by God.
• I am a friend of God.
• I am transformed by God.

For eleven weeks The Harbor Church will be doing a series called, “Who am I?” It fulfills the third commitment of what we call The Gaze/Glance Principle, which says, “I commit to find my identity in God.” If you would like to learn more about The Gaze/Glance Principle and the eleven “I Am” statements come check us out on YouTube. Let’s find and keep our identity in our immutable God.

#identity #whoami #findingmyidentity #God #odessafl #bible #comfort #thegazeglanceprinciple #timfd
#mindset #mindfulness #scripture #tampabay #copingmechanisms

David Towner is the pastor of The Harbor Church in Odessa, Florida. He is the author of the book Today Is My Favorite Day. He is married to Tonya and has three daughters (one is in heaven), four grandsons, and one granddaughter.