Living Out Your Identity

Have you ever been in moments that you wonder why you have a certain bent towards things? You wonder why you may be a particular way, like why you are the one to step out and try things first, or why you are always the first person to want to work on reconciliation? Why you may have a particular style, or why God did not give you a different path than the one you are on?

So much comes back down to identity. What is your identity? Who do you identify as? Who does your family say that you are? Who do your friends think you are? Who does God say you are? Who do you say you are? Who have you wanted to be? Identity. It is such a little word that carries so much with it.

Are you a trust fund kid? Are you a child of a single parent? How you identify yourself makes up so much of who you are; it either validates or undermines you. Identity is almost like a garment for our soul to wear. It can either fortify and grow what is inside or tear down and destroy what has been given.

Identity is one of these fascinating areas of life that you have, whether you are conscious about your identity or not, you have an identity that you are living by. There is the identity that we are destined to have, a God given identity if you will, and then there is the identity that life tries to impose on us. Our God given identity is interwoven in our existence. It is what He says about us in His Word, it involves our lineage, our gifting, and our calling. The identity that is imposed on us is one that often involves our faults, arbitrary strengths, and visible attributes. Although your arbitrary strengths, and visible attributes could potentially play a role in your identity, your faults should not; unless you are choosing to never move past your faults. Temporal things like faults are not our identity. They may fortify who we are by teaching us a lesson; but they do not have to define us.

Deep generational patterns, personal patterns, skills, or traits regardless, if they were appropriately used or not (for we can choose to use a skill that was once for bad and choose to use it for good) reveal your true identity; your true calling.

Your true identity brings about order. It puts reason and purpose to that which did not previously have reason or purpose.

It fortifies your call, grounds your motives, and justifies that which was previously unexplainable.

So, how do you find this great identity?!

Start to really study who you are, what makes up the core of you. Challenge if those things that make up the core of you do so because it is a part of you, or trauma (whether yours or passed down), or harm that could have happened to you. Sometimes there are parts of us that have been with us for so long, even since we were born that really are not a part of us at all. Get feedback from trusted people, ask God about it, pray for guidance.

Learn about your family line, who your people really are. What did they really think? What are their attributes? What are the themes you find?

Find out who the God of the Bible says you are. What does He promise you?

Your identity speaks to your destiny. As you discover your identity, be sure to walk in it. It does no good if you leave it on a shelf or hide it under a basket. Walk in it, embrace it, live it! Here’s to living your identity and stepping into your destiny.

Kenisa Nunley, founder & CEO of “Gowns and Gardens”, and “Gowns and Gardens House of Charities”, is a native Los Angelino and an explorer of life. She has a background in consulting, business development, events, and is a graduate from the University of Southern California, with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Business and an emphasis in marketing.

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