Identity

by Dale Mast

Identity is the key to your destiny on this earth. If you cannot tell others who you are, we will never know what you can accomplish. Identity flows from how we see ourselves. This is largely influenced by the opinions of others and the beliefs we draw from our conclusions of our past life events.

If we don’t shift our identity in each new season, we will not reach our full destiny. Complaining is often a telltale sign that we haven’t yet shifted our identity for the new season. Complaining reveals that we see our circumstances as greater than our identity.

We must guard that identity through the storms of life. If we lose your identity in Egypt, we cannot overcome the giants that are living in our promised land. Then the wilderness will become our future, not the place of transition. Joshua and Caleb kept their identity as sons while working as slaves in Egypt, and it gave them a perspective of victory when they saw the giants. They not only survived Egypt and the forty years in the wilderness, but they were also a source of courage, vision, and strength as they led the next generation into the Promised Land.

God was focused on His people dwelling in the land He promised Abraham—but deliverance from Egypt was required to get them there! They were not ready for their new address. If you aren’t comfortable with the new level of authority and responsibility that accompanies your new season, you won’t live in it confidently, which affects your proficiency.

Exciting new experiences are created when fresh faith flows through our new identity. Our agreement with truth is required for both faith and identity. Identity is more difficult to grasp because we approach it incorrectly. Traditionally in our culture, we gain our identity from what we do, instead of who we are. However, we all understand if you are a relative of John Kennedy or George Bush, your identity as a politician and leader is already established because of your father’s identity.

There are watershed events with unusual results that invite us into an identity shift. A new way of thinking cannot be contained in an old identity. The old identity will eventually derail the new set of thoughts generated by a new experience if we do not allow those thoughts to shift our identity.

It is essential to live from our new identity in order to maintain the elevated season we have just entered. Our new season is marked with assignments that were not granted to us in the past, even though they were promised. Dreams reveal our future to shift us and our path. Pursuing our destiny requires more of God and His creativity by design and purpose. He is the one who is building identity in us.

A collage of new thoughts creates a new process of reasoning and conclusions that allows us to embark upon new assignments. Possibility thinking and problem solving are now functioning at a new level that empowers us to shift the earth. Until heaven shifts us, we cannot shift the earth. What we gain in identity shifts the way we evaluate situations. Until we think differently, nothing new will flow from our life. One new thought can elevate what we already know to a superior level.

Dreams do not hinge on our natural abilities. Dreams that shift the earth hinge on identity. God dreams shift the identity of the dreamer. The unique thoughts that accompany those dreams create a new paradigm. A paradigm is a model or pattern for something that may be copied or followed. It is a theory or a group of ideas about how something should be. God made each person with the capacity to dream. Dreaming comes more naturally than thinking—we can dream while we are asleep.

Can we live in that new identity, or are we just making occasional visits? New vision and increased authority are given to us by God so that we can address greater needs and more difficult issues. Our new identity is not to give us an easier life, but rather a more fruitful one. New tasks require an identity shift and a new level of faith. These shifts are initiated through desires God has put in us, or through things that He causes to disturb us.

If we don’t see ourselves correctly, we cannot enter a new assignment. When God reveals our future, it also reveals our new identity in “seed form,” which must be planted and watered. Visions are delayed or lost if there isn’t an identity shift or an “activity shift.” When we shift our activity, it affects our identity. Faith activates the vision with action. 

David entered the battle as a shepherd boy, but he left it as a warrior. God shifted David’s identity in an incredible way through that great victory. If others see our identity shift through new activity in our lives and then we agree with their observation, our identity is established. If we do not receive our new identity, eventually they will agree with us. David took a very important step towards being the next king of Israel with that victory.

Experiences create momentum and a window of opportunity. If we can perceive and receive our new identity, we will be able to step into our new season with greater ease and expand its boundaries. This is a very fruitful season in your life!