What am I allowing to define me? I am guilty of allowing myself to be defined by and some things I have caught myself saying about myself:

1. My relationship status
   1. If I am in a relationship, then I will be living out God’s plan for my life because God created us to be relational. OR I don’t know why I can’t be in one… I thought I was cute or ___.
2. My weight
   1. If only I weighed less, people would like me.
3. My grades
   1. My grades are good, but if they were better, then I would be more unique and noticed by professors.
4. My friendships
   1. If people see me with ___, then they won’t like me. OR am I hurting someone getting “cool” friends by being around them?
5. My hurt
   1. Hurtful words, struggles, etc. define me because I can’t ever move on from them.
6. My problems
   1. If only I did not have certain problems, people would like me more. OR why God do I have these problems?

Can any of y’all relate to this? For you it may be a sport, or how fit you are, or what you do in your free time. Do you allow things that are not eternally focused to define you? We have to let ourselves be defined by Jesus. By His LOVE for us. By His goodness. By Him.

I was reading a devotional by Rick Warren and there were a few points he made: Know who you are, know who you want to please, know what goals you want to reach, and know how to maintain those priorities. As we allow ourselves to be defined, we have to think about each one of these things.

Here’s some Scripture talking about our identity that I LOVE:

Ephesians 1:5 “He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—” We are HIS. We are adopted by Him!!!!

1 Corinthians 6:17 “But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” We can be defined by our unity with Christ!!!!

1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” We are a part of the BODY OF CHRIST! This is so awesome!

John 1:12 “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—” We are His children! We are defined as CHILDREN OF GOD!

Sweet friends, end this year being reminded that you are NOT defined by your score on a test, your football team’s final record, or your weight. Let your identity be found in Jesus!