I recently took my family on a vacation to New York City. When I think of the term vacation, I picture white sand beaches, sunshine, a book, and falling asleep in a beach chair while listening to the tide roll in and out. But when you’re a girl dad, you learn that the word vacation is often interchangeable with the word shopping. And when it comes to shopping, New York City is the place to be.

We had a blast shopping our way through the Big Apple. But one evening we found ourselves smack-dab in the middle of a very crowded Times Square. We were quickly engulfed by a crowd of protesters, street entertainers, tourists, people selling watches and purses, and a host of interesting characters. The intensity of the scene made my protective instincts kick in. “Stay close,” I said as I took my daughters by their hands and led them through the intimidating crowd. People were shouting slogans and selling their wares, and we were overwhelmed by the chaos around us. It would have been so easy for us to get separated, and I was not about to let go of my girls in the middle of that madness. As long as they stayed close to me, they could block out all the yelling, stay safe, and keep heading in the right direction.

That moment in the crowds of that big city sometimes feels like a metaphor for my spiritual life. It seems as if we are constantly being pulled in different directions by the shouts of our broken world and by our own sinful nature attempting to lead us astray. And when we lose touch with our heavenly Father, we can lose sight of who we are and be fooled into adopting an identity that the world wants to assign us, one far from the true identity given to us by a loving Creator:

Your challenges in school can make you feel like your name is Stupid.

A dysfunctional family situation can make you feel like your name is Unwanted.

The mistakes you’ve made can make you believe your name is Failure.

A spouse walks out, and you are left believing your name is Worthless.

I heard a preacher say once that we spend too much time playing “dress up” and putting on identities of the world rather than leaning into who God made us to be. It reminds me of a Henri Nouwen quote I came across: “Spiritual identity means we are not what we do or what people say about us. And we are not what we have. We are the beloved daughters and sons of God.”

My role as a dad has helped me better understand the importance of staying close to my heavenly Father for direction, for assurance, for identity.

Like all those people shouting in Times Square, if we follow the leads and the voices of other people instead of God’s, we soon lose the true story of who we are in Him. Satan knows that if he can get you and me to believe a lie about who we are, we’ll never be able to step fully and freely into the plan that God has for us.

The Bible tells us the truth of our God-given identity: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1). A relationship with Christ also means your identity is found in Him no matter where you have been or what you have done. The God of the universe is only interested in the identity that He has given you.

We are God’s handiwork, His craftsmanship. The psalmist reminds us that we were known by our Creator while we were still in the womb (Psalm 139:13). We are known by God! He knows us better than we know our- selves. It makes sense for us to look to Him when searching for our identity and place in this world. Just like my daughters needed to stay close to me in the middle of that noisy, wild New York City crowd, we must always stay close to our heavenly Father. If we focus on walking hand in hand with Him and hear His voice over the messages of this world, we will hear Him calling us by our true name—the only name that matters.

Remember that the journey to discover your true identity begins by staying close to your heavenly Father. Today, remind yourself that you are who God says you are, and you are living a story that gives Him all the glory.

CONNECT TO HIS STORY Read the following passage and consider how it applies to your life:

EPHESIANS 1:3–10 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will—to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, He made known to us the mystery of His will according to his good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”

Think about the words Paul uses in this passage to describe our relationship with Christ.

What is your identity as a believer according to this passage?

What are the riches of God’s grace in your life? How can you share that with others?

CRAFT YOUR STORY

Spend a few moments today writing about your identity. How do you define yourself? How would you describe yourself to others? Now write about how God sees you. What is your identity in Him? Think about how you need to adjust your view of your identity to coincide with your true identity in Christ.

SHARE YOUR STORY

Reach out to someone you know and encourage them that they are a son or daughter of God—that they can find their identity not in the things the world says but in Christ. Everyone is facing a battle for their identity, and today God could use you to be a much-needed reminder for someone else that they are a beloved child of God.

LIVE YOUR STORY

Spend some time researching what the Bible says about your identity in Christ. Pick out two or three verses to memorize and keep close to your heart in times when you are tempted to let the world define you.