Identity Crisis: Taken Captive

You feel that tightness in your chest? That is the enemy telling you- you are not good enough or worthy. The enemy wants to display your greatest weakness just so he can mock you. He wants to steal your soul. He wants to break you down and make you feel like nothing. Every seed of doubt that is planted is added to a dark garden of destruction. Weeds choke out truth and that is exactly what seeds of doubt do- they choke, destroy, and they burrow into our identity. John 10:10 lays out the full intentions of our adversary. “The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Do you feel your identity has been taken captive? I am convinced there are certain themes the enemy whispers day after day, planting seeds of doubt. When we believe it- the seed of doubt is watered. At this point in time, it is not too late to shovel the seed out of the ground. It may have been planted, but the roots don’t yet run deep. In this stage, rescuing your soul from the seed of doubt is manageable- truth must be planted in its place. However, the more belief and truth an individual ascribes to that doubt- the more the seed it nurtured and the greater the identity problem.

In counseling, we call the seeds of doubt cognitive distortions- they are the lies the enemy tells, seeking our undoing. On the other hand, the themes of these lies are the filters through which we see them are called core beliefs- “I am unlovable” “I am a failure” “I am not good enough” “I am not worthy” “I will be abandoned” “I am helpless” “I deserve because I do.” Unfortunately, before long, these core beliefs end up controlling our identity. In turn, if a seed of doubt is consistent with our core belief schema, we will accept it readily. When this happens, what happens to our identity? It shatters!

God’s original intention for creation was the likeness of him. “God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female, he created them.” Genesis 1:27

In the beginning, to see Adam and Eve was to see a picture of God. But then one day, the image became distorted. They became unrecognizable. How could this be so?

The devil used the same tactics with Adam and Eve he uses with us today. His method of attack has not changed. He planted a seed of doubt- a very small seed and it manifest and destroy. They believed and acted on it. Their action and disobedience led to sin. In turn, they experienced a profound separation from the Father. While they were originally intended to be image bearers, sin marred this divine image and they became unrecognizable.

But do not despair, my dear friends- there is good news! “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” (Luke 4:18)

The gospel is the GOOD NEWS. In fact, when Jesus came, he came to under and redeem the destruction that occurred in the garden. Through salvation, we return to our original intention- to be God’s image bearers, ambassadors for the kingdom. He not only has the power to undo the destruction but to rewrite the story. To not just restore, but to make new. He sets our identities free from captivity and gives us a new name- MY BELOVED SONS AND DAUGHTERS. THIS IS GOOD NEWS!

The second piece of good news is- when you know your enemy’s battle plan- he can be defeated. Even though Jesus conquered the grave and will come again defeat him once and for all- the devil is still prowling around on earth looking for someone to crush. The devil’s plan has not changed since the beginning! Through scripture, we identify evidence of this battle plan. By studying the enemy, we can defeat him! God gives us the tools in his WORD!

2 Corinthians 10:3-6, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Strongholds are identity breakers! In order to take every thought captive, we have to 1) identify the thought 2) know truth 3) use truth to make the lie obedient to Christ 4) Allow God to guide you into truth. 1 John 2:20-21, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.” God has so graciously given us the tools to identify when the enemy is trying to lead us astray.

The enemy seeks to destroy us. Since our identity is so fragile and in a state of crisis, the devil plants seeds of doubt. He is alive and active and seeks to devour us. But we must rejoice in this truth, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Jesus has already overcome every stronghold the devil uses to undo us and unravel our identity. Jesus rescued us. In his fullness, we are no in a state of identity, but completely and utterly FREE.