WINNING WITH THE WORD
“Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that will help you to be a winner in life by applying God’s principles for living the abundant life as found in the Bible, God’s manual for life.
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Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Monday, August 24, 2020. Today’s Podcast is Episode #33 in Series 2020 and is titled “Who Are You Really?”
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We hear a lot of talk these days about self-image, self-esteem, and self-fulfillment.
All of this discussion has as its goal discovering who we really are. While discovering our true identity is crucial, most of us are going about it the wrong way. We are looking in the wrong place to discover who we really are. We are looking to ourselves.
Let’s take a deeper look. Have you noticed that all of these phrases–self-image, self-esteem, self-fulfillment–include the word “self”? It seems as though the entire goal of life is to find ourselves. We think that in finding ourselves, we will ultimately find the meaning of life and our purpose in life.
But is this really true? Is it really true that when we find ourselves, we will discover who we really are? That we will discover the meaning of life and our life purpose?
The answer to this question lies in God’s Holy Word. What does God say about finding ourselves? In Matthew 10: 39, God says this about our search for ourselves: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Hmm. Now that’s the exact opposite of what the world has taught us, isn’t it? The world has taught us that we need to find ourselves in order to discover the meaning of life. God says that if we focus on finding ourselves to discover the meaning of life, we will eventually not only lose ourselves, but we will also miss the meaning of life. On the other hand, if we focus on finding God, we will find ourselves and the true meaning of our lives.
Why does finding ourselves depend on finding God? Because God is our Maker.
To expect the self to know the purpose for which it was made is like asking a car to know the purpose for which it was made. The car is incapable of knowing its own purpose. Only the maker of the car can tell us the purpose for which the car exists.
Likewise, the self is incapable of knowing its own purpose. Only the Maker of the self can tell the self the purpose for which the self exists.
While this may be a weak analogy, I think you get my point.
You see, my friend, we were made in God’s image. Precisely for that reason, our true identity lies only in Him. if we ignore or deny that truth, we will miss the very meaning of our lives.
The world’s emphasis on the self takes our eyes off the true source of our identity, and that source is God Himself. When we look to ourselves to define ourselves, we will be deceived and go astray. We will lose our bearings.
But when we look to God to define us, we will discover who we really are.
To seek our identity outside of this truth is to end up with a false image of who we truly are. Yet, this is exactly what Satan tempts us to do.
Liar that he is, Satan tempts us to believe that we can know ourselves by ourselves. He tempts us to isolate ourselves from our Maker.
But isolation leads to desolation. And that is precisely the goal of the enemy. The Bible says he comes only “to steal, kill, and destroy.”
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10: 39)
There is only one way that you can discover who you really are. That way is through Jesus Christ. He Himself said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” So, if you want the truth about who you really are, follow Jesus. Only in Him will you discover your true identity.
Let me ask you: Have you been looking to Jesus Christ for your identity? Or have you been looking to yourself? If you have not sought your identity in Christ, repent and begin to do so now by accepting Him as your Savior and Lord. Pray this simple prayer with me:
Lord Jesus, I’ve been looking to myself to discover who I am. No wonder I’ve been going around in circles. Only You can tell me who I really am because You made me. So, I come to You now and invite You into my life. Reveal to me who I am. But most of all, reveal to me Who You are, for it is only by knowing You that I will begin to know myself. In Your Name I pray. Amen.
If you prayed this simple prayer, please write to me at drmaryann@maryanndiorio.com. I would like to send you a little booklet that will help you get started in your walk with Christ. I also encourage you to get yourself a Bible and read it every single day. The Bible is God’s love letter to you, His manual for your life. In the Bible, God reveals Who He is, and He instructs you how to live.
Finally, ask the Lord to lead you to the church of His choice for you where you can learn about Him and have fellowship and encouragement with other Christ-Followers.
For those of you who may not know, I write fiction about many of the issues I deal with in this blog and podcast. I encourage you to visit my website bookstore at maryanndiorio.com/book-table .
If you have been blessed by this blog and podcast, I encourage you to share them with others. I also invite you to become a Winning with the Word patron on Patreon. As a patron you will enjoy special benefits only for my patrons. Just go to Patreon.com and search for Winning with the Word to join. I would like to thank all of my patrons who are making this podcast possible. I could not do this without your help.
Thank you so much for listening. This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, novelist and life coach, reminding you that God loves you just as you are and just where you are, and that He will help you to keep on Winning with the Word.
PLEASE TWEET: “Who Are You, Really?” by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio (CLICK TO TWEET)
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“Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that helps you to deal with the daily problems of life by using the Bible as your guide to solving them. The Word of God will make you a success in life!
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