Our Identity

Probably most of us reading this will know and understand the great gift of God’s forgiveness. When He forgives He remembers our sins no more and even casts them away as far as the east is from the west (Hebrews 8:12 and Psalm 103:12). As wonderful as those promises are from God our Father, it is at times hard to forgive ourselves. Of course, our arch enemy, Satan and his demonic forces, don’t want us living in the joy of forgiveness. They want us wallowing in self-pity, feeling loathsome towards ourselves for our transgressions. What can we do?

It greatly helps and releases us to walk in the joy of our forgiveness when we choose upon what we let our thoughts dwell. If we think upon how dreadful we can be, we will walk in despondency. On the other hand, if we think upon the unfathomable love of our Heavenly Father towards us, we will walk in the joy of our place in the family of God. I find Romans 8:1 helpful. It states simply but powerfully, There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus (NLT). The dictionary definition of condemnation is, the act of expressing strong disapproval or sentencing someone to punishment for their actions.

Condemnation does not apply to any child of God. Why? Because Jesus took the condemning sentence for our sin upon Himself. He did that when He paid the penalty for our every sin on the cross. Never forget that when you asked Jesus to forgive you, He washed you clean of every sin you ever committed and every sin you ever would commit. We still confess our sins, not to be saved all over again, (once sealed for eternity, always sealed for eternity) but to renew broken fellowship with the Lord who loves us so much. He does not want us burdened down by unconfessed sin which lessens our joy. He wants us walking in the sheer bliss of the power of the Holy Spirit.

How do we maintain such joy in Jesus? By claiming as our own the freedom Jesus paid to give us. Jesus paid the penalty for sin and gave us victory over death (for now we will live in Heaven with Him when our time on earth comes to an end), Now we grow in joy and faith by meditating on His love letter to us which is the Word of God, by telling Him all our concerns, by talking with Him throughout the day, by always thanking Him for all He has done in our yesterdays, which builds our faith to be assured of His blessings in all our tomorrows.

We are free to walk in joy in Jesus. Therefore, stand strong in the grace He has bestowed upon each of us who know Him. Refuse to accept Satan’s condemnation. There is truly no such thing for the child of God. Walk free today. Walk in joy. Be blessed in all He has done and for all He has planned for your tomorrows. Truly rejoice for He is your strength. He is your joy, He is your courage. We stand clean in His presence. Our identity is in the One who loves us and forgives us, making us new, filling us with the beauty of the Holy Spirit.