A new identity

    Jamie was a martial arts expert and a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) coach. He was in control of his life, or so he thought…
    When he was born, he was abandoned by his parents and his grandparents adopted him. Feeling extremely hurt by the sense of abandonment by his parents, especially his father, he found his identity and a sense of control in martial arts. He developed a successful career which led to coaching MMA fighters and his induction in the US martial arts Hall of Fame. Even though he achieved a lot, it was still not enough and he was always searching for more. Sadly, all of this became nothing when his wife, who had a long term heart condition, died in his arms. It did not help  that his daughter watched him trying to resuscitate her but without success.   In spite of all he had achieved and how much he had felt he was in control, it devastated him that he could not save his wife or protect his daughter from her pain. Over the next year, he began abusing alcohol and prescription drugs. He began leading a double life. On one hand, he was a mentor to his martial arts students and a coach to the men who fought for him. On the other hand, he was miserable, empty and self-destructive. He believed in God’s existence, but did not believe that God was good. 
    One day, while target shooting out on his property, his mind became flooded with guilt and thoughts of condemnation. He put the gun in his mouth deciding to end his life. When he pulled the trigger it clicked but nothing happened. With the click of the trigger, he realised he did not want to die. He dropped to his knees and had a serious conversation with God, giving his life to him and admitting that he did not want to live the way he had been living anymore. Something happened on the inside of him that he could not explain. He had experienced religion before but now he experienced the Holy Spirit. He was flooded with joy and peace. A moment later, while clearing the gun, the shot fired. He knew that God had miraculously spared his life. He finally found freedom and a new identity. He now has a new purpose and new desires and wants to follow God full time. He is remarried and involved in ministry encouraging others to find their peace, purpose and identity as a child of God through Jesus Christ. 
    It’s nice to feel a sense of control, to make every effort to protect yourself from hurt, pain and tragedy. Unfortunately, our efforts to protect ourselves don’t always quite work out the way we might expect. Jamie’s desperate need for control was born out of the hurt from his parents’ abandonment.  He needed to protect himself from the trauma that that had caused. Sadly, instead, he only made things worse. It was only when he allowed God to take control that he could experience peace and joy. It’s the same with us. When we relinquish control to God, the stress and frustration of trying to do it all on our own ceases and we can be at peace knowing that Someone bigger and more capable than we are, can and will handle it. 
    I recently spoke to some students about identity. I told them that as soon as they asked Jesus to come into their life, the Holy Spirit would come in and they would now have a new identity in Christ. They would belong to God and have the privilege of going to Him whenever they needed to. 
    It is indeed a privilege to belong to the One true and living God. According to  Ephesians Chapter One, being His child means that, among other things, we are forgiven and redeemed (v.7), adopted (v.5), sealed with His Holy Spirit (v. 13b) . In short, we are covered. 
    So, no matter what comes your way, you have a heavenly Daddy who will take care of you and protect you from all harm and evil. He may not stop negatives from coming your way, but He will certainly ensure that they do not have the final say in your life.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God wants you to belong to Him because He has such a beautiful plan and purpose for your life. He doesn’t want you to be stressed with trying to control it all but to leave the control to Him so that you can enjoy His very best for you. ​

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