Topic: Self-Diagnosed With Fear and False Identities – Daily Devotional by Proverbs 31 Ministries 23 April 2021

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Self-Diagnosed With Fear and False Identities

“I sought the LORD [on the authority of His word], and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4 (AMP)

Several years prior to the global pandemic, I paced back and forth in an airport terminal.

My fear of heights had a grip on me and was impacting an experience I truly wanted to enjoy.

As I sat across from my best friend waiting to board the plane, I felt it coming. It began rising from seemingly nowhere, ushering in a sense of panic and causing my body to react to this illusion of danger.

My heart raced. My breathing quickened, and I couldn’t sit still anymore. I told my travel partner I’d be back and started my fast-paced escape through the concourse, attempting to regain control over what I was feeling.

Previously, I wore this fear of heights as a badge of honor — something that, as a child, I decided to align myself with and carry with me because I heard a loved one say this was their greatest fear. In my naïveté, I thought bearing this burden along with them was an endearing gesture. My innocent desire to display how much I cared for them led me to believe I, too, could share in this fear.

But at this moment, I desperately wanted to be free, to no longer be gripped by what I was imagining and to experience the Truth found in the Word of God.

I had willingly adopted and clung to this fear of heights for so long that I needed help to let it go. And I only experienced freedom after doing what we find in Psalm 34:4, which says, “I sought the Lord [on the authority of His word], and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.”

As I walked, I repeated various verses. Second Timothy 1:7 (AMP) reminded me, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].”

Philippians 4:6-7 (AMP) flowed from my lips as well: “Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].”

After a while, my pace and heart slowed. I embraced the Truth God prescribed to me instead of clinging to the self-diagnosis of fear that inhibited me from experiencing His joy and peace.

As we boarded the plane, I considered what life could be like if I consistently identified with God’s Truth instead of conforming to those around me. How much freer could I be?

Dear friend, pause for a moment to examine the false identities you have aligned yourself with. Do you recognize your old condition — the labels, diagnoses, fears and circumstances you’re clinging to that are standing between you and full deliverance?

By God’s mercy, you have been healed, set free and given a new nature. You no longer have to identify with anything other than God’s Truth — especially to the self-inflicted, wounded identities you have adopted.

You are not your hurt, fear, diagnosis or circumstance. And God is waiting for you to align your thoughts with His thoughts, your words with His words, and your identity with the identity He sacrificed His only begotten Son for you to have.

It’s time to seek the Lord for the Truth about who you are and begin to fully embrace your new identity.

Dear God, thank You for loving me and for sending Your Son to die on the cross to save me and restore our relationship. I want to live according to Your view of me, not the world’s view or my own. So I can fully experience my new identity in Christ, help me release any false identity that keeps me broken and in bondage. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].” (AMP)

Psalm 119:45, “I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.” (NIV)