Identity Crisis and Awareness

            This is the start of a 5-part series looking at the process of going from a state of hopelessness to a state of being hopeful. Throughout this series, we will look at some specifics and generalities that can be used to gain hope. In summary, the process looks like this. First, it is important to identify with who we are as individuals. Secondly, we go through an extensive search of who God is. Third, it is important to see what character strengths and defects we have. Fourth is the process of repentance and restoration. And lastly , there is the answer of how one can continue to live in God's will and in His strength with peace and confidence.

When we think about what it takes to identify with who we are as a person, we tend to ask ourselves these questions. “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” It is important to know what God's design and intent was when He created man. It is also vital to know that when sin entered the world, it not only affected our relationship with God but also affected our relationship with others and ourselves. Then there is the manner of how our character became defined and shaped due to the influences in our lives. The final outcome affecting our direction and choices in life is based on our hunger and thirst for a spiritual living or a lack of hunger and thirst.

            How important is this process when it comes to spiritual healing? This process is one way God uses spiritual healing to help a person come out of their hurts and pains due to past or present decisions and actions. It doesn't matter if a person is broken, hurting, in bondage or feeling hopeless. A person can become restored , healed, free and full of hope. Let's look at the first step in this process. You will be able to read the other four steps to this process over the next four months.

God's Design and Intent of Man

            God created man in His own image. (Genesis 2:26; 5:1; 9:6) The first man, Adam , was formed by God from the dust of the ground. He was placed in a garden called Eden . He was given dominion and rule over every living creature God created prior to man. So what does it mean to have been created in God's image? There is no definitive answer to this question. But we can think about what it is like to look in a mirror. It is a reflection of who we are. Can we say the same thing about how we are a reflection of God if we are made in His image? We are not an exact image of God but He created us with some of His attributes. He did not give us all of His attributes for a reason but He did give us the ones we needed in order to love Him and others.

            God created man as a social being. We see each believer was continually committed to fellowship in Acts 2:42. There are several definitions and meanings behind fellowshipping. What does the Bible say about our actions of fellowship? It has to do with contributing to the poor among the saints (Romans 15:26 ), participating in the support of the saints (2 Corinthians 8:4), and generously sharing with the saints through service ( 2 Corinthians 9:13 ). What does this mean in layman terms? We are not to neglect doing any good nor keep from sharing with others as these are the means by which we please God (Hebrews 16:13 ). This is why we are commanded to be in fellowship with others and not to forsake the assembling of being together because we are social beings and is the means by how we grow spiritually in order to love and encourage each other (Hebrews 10:25).

God created man as a spiritual being. Fellowship is also essential as it is a way we spiritually connect with God. We spend time reading and meditating on His Word along with time spent in prayer. That is what prayer is all about. Prayer is talking with God about what is on our heart and being open to receive the feedback God provides by laying it on our heart or showing us in Scripture. We must remember anything laid on our heart must line up with Scripture in order to be from God. 1 Corinthians 1:9 mentions our calling to be in fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ . Philippians 2:1-2 really expresses what fellowship with God looks like. There is encouragement in Christ , consolation of love, fellowship of the Spirit, affection and compassion. Our joy is made complete by being of the same mind with God, maintaining the same love of God, united in spirit with God, and intent on the one purpose God has. Why is this important to know? It is written “I thought age should speak, and increased years should teach wisdom, but it is a spirit in man and the breath of the Almighty that gives them understanding.” (Job 32:7-8) Without God in a person's life, life loses meaning and purpose. With God in a person' life, life is everything because of His plans and purposes being worked through us in loving and showing compassion towards others.

Human Nature and Sin's Effects

Many are aware of the fall of man written about in Genesis 3 but how much of an effect has it had on man. When I read Genesis 3:22 where it says “man has become like God in knowing good and evil,” it causes me to realize this was the first effect on man. So I wonder, was man naïve? We are not told . But as a result, man now has a deceived heart as it says in Jeremiah 17:9.

Another effect the fall had on man came out of the command written in Genesis 2:16-17. Man would surely die. Each person is spiritually dead because of our sins or trespasses. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves from death. Romans 6:23 and 8:6 say sin does bring death and it is only through the gift of God being His Son, Jesus Christ , with how we can inherit eternal life. It is having the faith believing what God says is accurate and true and has nothing to do with our own deeds. It is the mind of a sinner controlled by sin that brings death, but the mind of a sinful man controlled by the Holy Spirit brings life and peace.

One question we can ask ourselves is the same question Nathan asked King David . Do you remember the decision David made after he committed adultery with Bathsheba and she became pregnant. He tried to cover it up with calling her husband Uriah to come off the front lines with the hope and intent he would spend a night with his wife and he would be considered the father of this baby. When that did not work, David had Uriah killed. The question Nathan asked David is “Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight?” As believers, we must realize we are doing the exact same thing when we choose to do things contrary to the word of the Lord. When we know what is right and wrong and we still go ahead and do the wrong thing, what can we expect from God? Do we think He is going to be happy about our decision? Why do you think we experience guilt and shame? It is because we have offended a holy God and a person He has created when the action is against another person or even ourselves. Realize it is important to have the same heart David shared when he wrote Psalm 51: 4. “Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight.” And Paul reminds us that sorrow is a good thing as it leads us to the point of repentance as this is the will of God. ( 2 Corinthians 7:9) We will cover the thought of repentance in Part 4 of this series.

Defining and Shaping the Character of Man

            What defines the character of man is the difference of good and evil. How does one differentiate between the two? One means is by the words we choose. Matthew 12:35-37 tells us that our words will either bring justification or bring condemnation. Matthew 15:18 adds that the things which proceed out of our mouth actually come from our heart. This is the same with our actions. There are plenty of Scriptures outlining what deeds are evil and what deeds are good. We will cover what is evil and what is good in Part 3 of this series.

            Let's focus on what is important to learn with living in a manner that is good. We are to love the Lord God with all our heart, our soul, our strength and our mind. ( Luke 10:27a) We show God how much we love Him by our choices. Our heart and mind is where the decision making takes place. These are the parts of man that think, live and define our personality and most of all our response to God. The heart is also the home of our emotions, conscience, moral character and beginnings of man's deeds. A pure heart can stand in the presence of God but every man's heart is impure. The only hope we have to stand in God's presence is based on the hope we talked about earlier. The heart represents the true character of man even if it seems to be concealed to us. This concealment takes place when we deny the truth or rationalize, minimize or excuse our actions. There is also our soul which is our inner self and our reputation based on the appearance we present to God and others. The way we handle each lustful craving and desire is a reflection of our love for God and our devotion to following His ways. Lastly, there is the strength we have showing God our love for Him. Strength is equal to power. It is the ability one has to produce something and is regularly described in a person's life as a battle of the will or choices we have to make. This battle or choice requires us to have a connection with God to know what would be the best choice and would define for us what is pleasing in His sight.    

In addition, we are to love others in the same manner as how we love ourselves. ( Luke 10:27b) If we take time out and really think about how we take care of ourselves, we will see our choices are based on how to love ourselves. The same can be done when we are in a relationship with others. We can take the time to see what it is that would cause another person to experience love from us. That means we need to get to know the other person and to find out what makes that person tick. The only one way this can be done is by spending time with others. However, there are a couple general rules we can follow. We know how we would like to be treated and so it is this same way others prefer to be treated. We have a desire for respect and encouragement. If we respect and encourage others, they will experience a feeling that they matter to us. One way we can do this is by telling others we see how they are growing and believe in who they are. It is accepting and appreciating them for who they are and what they contribute in the relationship.

But God will give people over to the lusts of their hearts in regards to impurity. (Romans 1:24) How does this happen? James 1:14-15 shares how this happens. Temptations carry us away and are enticing to us by our own lusts. These lusts are conceived in our own minds. It is at this point when we have a choice. We have a choice to allow lustful thoughts to take root and become sin in our life bringing about spiritual death. Another choice we have is to ask God to give us the strength to walk in His Spirit and not act on the lustful thoughts in order for us to have peace and life.

Spiritual Hunger and Thirst

            Because of our spiritual depravity, we hunger and thirst for spirituality in our lives. Some of us may not realize this hunger and thirst are God-driven and God-placed. Others may realize it but have uncertainty how to satisfy this hunger and thirst. Matthew 5:6 tells us that we are “blessed when we hunger and thirst for righteousness for we will be satisfied” because God will provide what we hunger and thirst for. Various times in the gospel of John , Jesus shares that He can satisfy our hunger and thirst. ( John 4:13-14; 6:35 , 48-58; 7:37 -38) As we continue to look at this process over the next four months, we will be able to see how this hunger and thirst can be satisfied.

            In summary, once we accept and acknowledge God's intent and design for us and our true nature and how sin corrupts our lives and hurts others who are connected to us, we can make some choices that will define and shape our character to be either loving or hateful people. How do you want to be defined ? Do you hunger and thirst to live a life of righteousness? Then continue to read this column over the next four months to see how this can be possible.

If you are looking for answers to have hope in your life once again, feel free to send me your question and I will look at addressing that topic in future publications.

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