“He [Nicodemus] needed to have his identity reset on a soul level by God himself.”- Judah Smith
In Chapter 8 (“New You”) of How’s Your Soul?, Pastor Judah Smith identifies one of the most powerful forces in your life as self-perception. However, often we fail to stop and analyze these self-perceptions. In addition, we don’t think about the effect of others’ opinions of us- or whether their assessments were right or wrong.
Therefore, we need to focus on God’s reminders of our soul’s identity. Judah explains:
“God wants to give identity to our souls (emphasis author’s). He wants to change us from the inside out and make us new people. He wants to help us see ourselves for who we are in him and then live accordingly.”
As a result, Pastor Smith takes a look at four emphases in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. These emphases shape the identity of your soul. Judah discusses the first two today.
1. Our position in Jesus. Judah emphasizes that the phrase in Jesus defines our stance and position as believers. In Jesus our souls gain new identities, with blessings and benefits far beyond what we deserve on our own.
2. Our superior Savior. Sooner or later, materialism, logic, and human ideas end up producing fear and defensiveness. They’re outlooks predicated on human understanding. Consequently, they construct a fallible and limited outlook.
In contrast, God’s greatness carries far-reaching implications for us. We face life with greater confidence. However, this confidence goes far beyond optimism, as Judah summarizes:
“I’m talking about trusting a real, personal God. A God who is good even when bad things happen. A God who is trustworthy even when life feels uncertain and random.”
Today’s question: Following your vocation loss, have you had your identity reset on a soul level? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Alive together with Christ”
