An Identity Crisis

I was recently laid off from work. It wasn’t fun, especially now that I’m married. When you recite your vows at your wedding, you are brimming with hope and expectation and positivity. Sure, we may be familiar with “for richer or poorer” or “for better, for worse,” but as the wedding bells toll, there’s an unuttered belief rooted in pride—Yes, I’m committed through poorer and worse, but that won’t happen to us (or at least it will be a while before it does).

You can always count on God to break down the sinful issues in your life. Why?

He wants you to be holy, and He will not accept the silver medal.

As we are made in His image, we are to live a life that conforms to His nature by the power of the Holy Spirit. Obviously, sin gets in the way time and time again; however, sometimes we don’t even see it. It takes a more serious event in our lives to take the time for spiritual reflection.

Besides the hypochondriac, who is constantly going to the doctor’s office without any sign of a problem? It takes the body aches and sneezing and coughing and congestion for us to realize something is wrong and recognize our need for healing. In the same way, sometimes it takes the bigger events—the layoffs, the diseases, the losses—to get our attention and come back to the cross.

I’m not saying I was way off the reservation of Christendom. However, it is apparent that the Lord has ushered in a new season for a greater purpose. I can’t tell you what that purpose is yet because I’m currently living it out, but I can trust that whatever is in store will be better. Am I saying a better job with better hours, benefits, etc.? No, not necessarily.

God takes care of His children, yes, but He’s much more concerned about their relationship with Him. If God knows it will take a year of unemployment to get my attention, so that I can grow spiritually and learn what He wants me to learn, He will see to it that it happens. (If this is actually what God has in store, I would ask for prayers for Bethany because she will be seeing/putting up with a whole lot more of me.)

When the storms of life roll in, it gives each of us a time to pause and reflect on our identity. Who are you? Who am I? Is my identity rooted in something or someone?

If our identity is rooted in our jobs, our wealth, or our families, rest assured that God is going to shake the pillars of your life. The whole edifice that you constructed in your life will come crashing down if your priorities are out of line. Again, God doesn’t settle for second place. If He is not being awarded the gold medal in your life, I would buckle up.

It’s interesting to see this cycle play out in the life of Joseph. Joseph, my namesake, was one of the very youngest of Jacob’s sons. Despite this, Jacob loved him and showed more favor to him than his other brothers. Further, Joseph received a robe of many colors—a symbol of favoritism—and shared his dreams with his brothers and father, recounting that those around him would ultimately bow before him.

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[quote bar=”true” align=”center”]If our identity is rooted in our jobs, our wealth, or our families, rest assured that God is going to shake the pillars of your life.[/quote]

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At this point, Joseph’s brothers are ticked, and they sell him into slavery (as an older brother, even I can admit that was not a proportionate response). Then, Joseph was sent to an Egyptian officer’s house to serve the household, and the Lord was with Joseph. Serving in Potiphar’s house, he was falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. In prison, he interpreted the dreams of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker; however, upon the chief cupbearer’s release, he forgot about Joseph. It was another two years until Joseph was released from prison in order to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams.

However, after Joseph correctly interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, he was exalted above all in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like Joseph’s trajectory was downward. As I progress through the story, I can’t help but think, “Well, it can’t get any worse than this.” And, then it gets worse.

Nevertheless, the important element that occurs throughout the story that should not be overlooked is this: “the Lord was with Joseph.” At no point does the Bible express that God gave up on Joseph or was surprised by the events that unfolded. On the contrary, each step in the journey led Joseph closer to where God ultimately wanted him.

Joseph’s story should be one of encouragement. If our identity is rooted in Christ, then we can be assured of the journey ahead. The route may not make much sense to us, but we can trust that God is sovereign and is in control of our navigation.

Z. Montgomery