God Made Me This Way: Understanding Our True Identity in Christ

God Made Me This Way: Understanding Our True Identity in Christ

June 23, 2025 | The Way of Life Church Blog

Have you ever found yourself saying, "That's just how I am" or "God made me this way" to excuse behaviors that don't align with God's Word? Many of us use our personalities or long-standing habits as reasons why we can't change or grow in certain areas of our Christian walk.

It's like ordering chicken nuggets at Taco Bell - it just doesn't seem to fit the identity. Similarly, we often resist living in ways that don't feel natural to us, even when Scripture calls us to those behaviors.

Did God Really Make You That Way?

When we say "God made me this way" about behaviors contrary to His character, we're making a theological claim that God has called people to do things He hasn't equipped them to do. But is this true?

Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that human beings were made in God's image. This doesn't refer to our physical appearance but to our character - we were designed to reflect God's nature. And God is loving, kind, patient, and compassionate.

So if God is a "people person," why would He make you "not a people person" if you're created in His image?

Sin Made You That Way, Grace Makes You His Way

The truth is that when we talk about "this way" being different from God's way, we need to recognize:

"Sin made you that way, but grace makes you His way."

Don't blame God for your hard heart, lack of love, or harsh words. These are manifestations of sin - our rebellion against God and His design.

Ephesians 2:1-3 describes our former state:

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind."

Notice the past tense - "you were," "you once walked," "we all once lived." For Christians, this is supposed to be our past, not our present reality.

How Sin Corrupts Our Identity

Sin absolutely corrupts and changes things about us. Romans 1:21-25 explains how God responds when we try to dethrone Him:

"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened... Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity..."

When we reject God's authority, He sometimes gives us over to experience the reality of living according to our own desires. This is part of His wrath - letting us taste life without Him as our center.

Grace Remakes You His Way

The good news is that God doesn't want us to stay in our sin. Ephesians 2:4-5 continues:

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ."

In Christ, everything gets flipped. We're no longer:

• Dead in trespasses and sins
• Following the course of this world
• Following Satan
• Children of wrath

Instead, we're sons and daughters of the Most High God. We've been redefined. We are new.

An Extreme Makeover, Not Just an Update

Remember the TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"? They didn't just paint walls - they demolished houses and built brand new ones that could fully accommodate the people who lived there.

That's what happens in Christ. We don't just get a "Common Update" - we get an "Extreme Makeover." 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us we are new creations in Christ - old things have passed away, and new things have come.

This means that being kind, considerate, and loving isn't foreign to who you are - it's only foreign to who you were. Your old self died with Christ on the cross, and your new self rose with Him from the grave.

How Do I Live Out This New Identity?

If you're wondering how to start living according to your new identity in Christ when you keep falling back into old patterns, the answer is faith. But what does that look like practically?

Ephesians 4:22-24 gives us direction:

"Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

This is a daily process:

1. Put off your old self (your past, pre-Christ identity)
2. Renew your mind (change your thinking)
3. Put on your new self (embrace who you are in Christ)

It starts with believing what God says about you. For many, this is the greatest spiritual battle - truly believing that who you were is no longer who you are.

The Process of Transformation

Think of it like a tree with new roots but some old fruit still hanging on. As you nurture the new roots (your identity in Christ), you'll start to see new fruit, and the old fruit will eventually wither and drop off.

This transformation requires investment. Just as new furniture is needed for a new house because the old furniture doesn't fit, your new self in Christ deserves new thinking and new behavior. Anything else simply won't fit who you truly are.

Dealing with the Pain of Change

Change often hurts, but it's a good kind of hurt. Like working with a physical trainer who focuses on strengthening your weak areas, spiritual growth requires stretching beyond your comfort zone.

The places that are inflexible need to become flexible. The areas that are weak need to become strong. And while this process can be painful, it's worth it because you're changing from something broken to something that works as God designed.

Life Application

If you find yourself saying "that's just how I am" about behaviors contrary to God's character, it's time for a reality check. Here are some questions to consider:

1. Am I excusing sin in my life by claiming "God made me this way"?
2. What areas of my life am I resisting God's transformation because it feels uncomfortable?
3. Do I truly believe what God says about my new identity in Christ?
4. What is one area where I can start "putting off the old self" and "putting on the new self" this week?

Your challenge this week is to identify one area where you've been saying "that's just how I am" and intentionally practice the opposite behavior as an act of faith. Whether it's being more patient with your family, more compassionate toward strangers, or more disciplined in your habits - choose to live according to who God says you are, not who you used to be.

Remember, if you are in Christ, you are a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come. Live like it's true, because it is.

Everything Happens for a Reason: Understanding God's Sovereignty and Our Role

Everything Happens for a Reason: Understanding God's Sovereignty and Our Role

June 18, 2025 | The Way of Life Church Blog

Have you ever faced a difficult situation and heard someone say, "Everything happens for a reason"? While this statement is true, our understanding and response to it can sometimes be misguided. God is indeed sovereign over all things, but that doesn't mean we should adopt a fatalistic attitude toward life's challenges.

Is "Everything Happens for a Reason" Biblical?

Unlike some other concepts we've examined in this series, the idea that everything happens for a reason is actually true. God is sovereign over the universe and everything that happens in this world. Isaiah 45:7 confirms this: "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord who does all these things."

Romans 8:28 further tells us that "He causes all things to work together for good, for those who love Him and those who are called according to His purpose." God shapes reality and moves things in time. Governments rise and fall because of God.

As R.C. Sproul wisely noted: "If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, free of God's sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that any single promise of God would ever be fulfilled."

The Difference Between Faith and Fatalism

While God is sovereign, we must be careful not to confuse faith with fatalism. Fatalism says, "Whatever happens, happens" - suggesting we have no role to play. Faith, on the other hand, recognizes God's sovereignty while also acknowledging our responsibility to act.

Sometimes we use the phrase "everything happens for a reason" not to promote faith but to communicate fatalism:

• "Maybe it was God's intention for me to lose that job" (when perhaps you weren't performing well)
• "It must be God's will for me to go through this health issue" (when there were warning signs you ignored)

The Widow of Zarephath: Faith in Action

In 1 Kings 17:8-16, we find a powerful example of how God's sovereignty works alongside human responsibility. During a severe drought, God told the prophet Elijah: "Go to Zarephath... I have commanded a widow there to feed you."

When Elijah arrived and asked the widow for bread, her response was surprising: "As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die."

This reveals something fascinating: God had "commanded" this widow to feed Elijah, yet she had no knowledge of this command! She was simply trying to prepare a final meal for herself and her son before they starved to death.

What Can We Learn from This Widow's Story?

When Elijah asked her to make him bread first, promising that "the jar of flour shall not be spent, neither shall the jug of oil be empty," she had a choice to make. She could have said, "I guess it's just meant to be that my son and I die today" - a fatalistic response. Instead, she chose faith and acted on it.

The widow didn't know God's plan, but she responded in faith to the opportunity before her. And because of her faith, "she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty."

How Do We Discern Our Part in God's Purpose?

God is sovereign, but we always have a part to play in His purpose. Here are three ways to align yourself with God's will:

1)  Pray Consistently

Prayer isn't just about asking for things; it's about knowing the God you're in relationship with. When you develop a growing prayer life, you become more in tune with God's will.

Elijah knew more than the widow because he had already witnessed God's provision. His relationship with God gave him confidence to trust God's direction.

2)  Pursue Biblical Wisdom

Wisdom is the right application of right understanding. It's not enough to study the Bible; we must apply what we learn.

The widow didn't just hear the prophet's words - she acted on them. She made a decision to go beyond her circumstances and trust God's word. When we act on our understanding of Scripture, we experience God's blessings.

3)  Trust God with the Results

We can't always anticipate how God will work things out, but we can trust that His results are always better than what we imagine.

Throughout Scripture, no one who trusted God ultimately came out worse for it. When you've done all you can do, hand the baton to God. As Romans 8:28-29 reminds us, God's definition of "good" is what makes us more like Jesus - not necessarily what feels good in the moment.

Life Application

This week, I challenge you to examine your response to difficult circumstances. Are you being fatalistic or faithful? Remember that you have a part to play in God's sovereign plan - not just for your life, but for the lives of those around you.

Ask yourself:

1. In what area of my life am I saying "whatever happens, happens" when God is actually calling me to take action?
2. What step of faith is God asking me to take right now that seems risky or uncomfortable?
3. How might God be using my current circumstances to shape me to be more like Jesus?

Like the widow gathering sticks, you may feel you're at the end of your resources. But God may be positioning you for a miracle if you'll respond in faith rather than fatalism. Remember, everything does happen for a reason - and that reason includes your faithful response to God's sovereign plan.