In the world today and throughout history, when people are told something about themselves enough, they begin to believe it. This can be both beneficial and harmful. In our modern time period, this truism is sometimes referred to as labeling. In the case of a child who is told that he has ADD, it is very possible that the child just simply needs to learn how to listen and pay attention and needs discipline along the way to learn what may be hard for him.
However, when a child is told that he has ADD and that he has a medical condition that supports his lack of attention at important times, it can create something within the child that strengthens the behavior rather than dealing with it.
This same concept of labeling individuals and its affecting their behaviors can be seen in the ongoing declaration that a former drug user is an “addict.” For the life of a participant in AA or NA, the common vernacular amongst this group is to introduce themselves as follows: “Hi, my name is Joe, and I am an addict.” It can be understood in a sense what they are getting at, but it is harmful for their development. In their attempts to stay cautious and careful, it is as though they can never get away from their identity as an addict, and it is simply who they are. With this kind of mindset, it is as though their past is always there and will never go away. This label marks their present state.
One can see a radical difference between the past and the present when the Scriptures declare the following:
• The believer is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:21)
• The believer is a new man (Col. 3:10)
• The believer is dead to sin (Rom. 6:2)
• The believer has been crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20)
• The believer has been freed from sin (Rom. 6:18)
• The believer is alive in Christ (Rom. 6:11)
• The believer has a new heart (Ez. 36:26)
This type of language resounds in the Scriptures, and time and time again, the believer is called to take action and embrace who God says He is. This is not a minor matter but rather has monumental implications. The reason for this is that it is out of your identity that your actions will come.
If you believe yourself to be a teacher, then you will teach. If you believe yourself to be a carpenter, then you will build. If you believe yourself to be a photographer, then you will take pictures.
It is at this point that an illustrative picture could be of help.
Gideon, the fearful
In the Old Testament, there lived a great judge over the house of Israel. This great judge was not always a great judge but rather used to be a coward and a man that feared battle significantly. A time arose in the life of Gideon when he looked out at the present state of his life and the life of his people and fear gripped him.
The circumstance in which Gideon found himself in was that a very powerful group of people known as the Midianites would come into the land and totally devour it. These Midianites would allow the Israelites to plant their crops. However, when the harvest would come, they would come back into the land and gather up the harvest along with all the livestock. This ongoing conflict with the Midianites led the people to being afraid and hiding in caves in the mountains.
Gideon was also very fearful. He embraced his identity as a scared man and pointed to a number of different reasons as to why he should be afraid and hide. It was in this state that God sought out Gideon as he was discretely attempting to thresh his wheat before the Midianites came in and ravaged his crop.
Gideon, the warrior
While Gideon embraced his fearful state as a part of who he was, God looked on him and saw something entirely different. In the very first encounter that the Angel of the Lord had with Gideon, God made it clear who Gideon was: “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, ‘The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor” (Judg. 6:12). Gideon must have been thinking in the back of his mind, “I know he’s not talking to me. I am anything but a mighty man of valor.” Nevertheless, God reiterates Himself by telling Gideon to go in this might of his (6:14).
At this point, Gideon still finds himself bound by the proverbial strongholds of the caves he was hiding in. It is almost as though he was so far back in these caves, he could not see the light of day. It is as though he was hiding behind hundreds of others backed against the walls of the caves when he uttered the following words after God called him to lead the people: “…Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judg. 6:15).
Gideon was stuck. Gideon was stuck in who he thought he was. Gideon was bound by the lies that he believed about his identity. He believed himself to be a coward, albeit possibly not in those exact words, but nevertheless a coward. He feared the battle. He feared the fight. He would rather run and let someone else lead. After all, he was of the lowest family and of the lowest tribe.
But all that didn’t matter because God came to shatter his destructive thought patterns about himself and make a warrior out of one who never knew he was a warrior. Gideon had a much different idea of who he was than God did, and as a result, this kept Gideon from being all that God had called him to be.
The beginning of Gideon’s ministry to his people and his victorious lifestyle over the strongholds that he faced were when he saw clearly who he was. He was nothing special apart from God’s grace, but when God declares something to be so, then it is so. God said Gideon was a mighty warrior.
Gideon had two options at this point. Gideon could have chosen not to believe what God said about him, and it would have drastically affected the course of his life. This would have led Gideon to continuing to hide in caves and run from his fears. The alternative was to take God at His Word and say, “Okay, Lord, if You say I am a mighty warrior, then by Your grace, I am.” Believing that he was what God called him to be led this man to be one the greatest examples in the Old Testament of a man with courage.
Application
In the world today, there are a vast number of ways that people remain bound because of what others have said about them or even what they have been saying about themselves. They go on believing lies and destructive things about themselves and never experience true freedom. This is even the case for many Christians as the world, sin, and Satan seek to get them to believe anything but the truth.
Knowing who you are in Christ is important for your spiritual growth and maturity. Many life-dominating sins remain life-dominating because the person who is trapped by them does not believe he is who the Bible says he is. It is a tough road to travel that can take time, but breaking out of your old identities and embracing what the Bible says about you each day, and even every moment, will prove to be one of the greatest spiritual benefits that you have ever participated in.
Final prayer
Father, I thank You that You have sought to realign my thinking and have helped me to see who I am in Christ. Help me to embrace my identity in Christ more each day. Help me to see who You have said that I am in Your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.