by Paul David Tripp
The LORD is my light and my salvation.
Psalm 27:1

Think about where we look for identity. How about in relationships? How many of us put burdens on relationships that they can’t bear because we’re getting our identity out of how that relationship is faring? It just never works. Many spouses have said to me that all they ever wanted was a husband or a wife who would make them happy. I’m thinking, Are you crazy? You actually think this person has the ability to be the source—the lasting, sturdy, continual source—of your happiness? Who in the world do you think you’ve married? The fourth member of the Trinity?
Or we find our identity in possessions. Let’s say that, in ways you don’t realize, you’ve attached your identity, meaning, and purpose to the order, beauty, and cleanliness of your home. Now, what is that going to create? Well, you’re going to be just an incessantly uptight person. You will notice crumbs on the kitchen counter that weren’t there before and it will break your heart. And you wonder, why would they do this to me? Or you’ll follow people into rooms, making sure they don’t make that room look like somebody actually lives there.
I’ll make the confession. I’ve been married for forty-two years, and I’m an Ephesians 5 failure. I can be so easily irritated. I want to be agreed with. I don’t ask much of Luella: just always say, “You’re absolutely right.” It doesn’t seem that hard.
Or we try to get our identity in achievements. How many times do you do something for somebody that they didn’t notice, and you have to find a way of letting them know you did it for them? Or maybe you’re more spiritual. Maybe you have determined that you’re going to be the smartest person theologically in the room at all times. You have committed yourself to theological “always-right-ism,” because that’s where you get your sense of identity.
The antidote to all this is to see who we are through the lens of God’s Word and see in that Word what He’s done for us.

Thought to Remember for Today

The first verse of Psalm 27 is the only place where identity will ever be found. The Lord is my light. The Lord is my salvation. The Lord is my stronghold. The theology of the Word of God is never impersonal; it’s deeply personal. It radically rearranges everything in my existence, because my life has been invaded by this awesome grace. A Savior has come to me and I am okay. Praise Him!

Fitzpatrick, E. (2016). Grace untamed: a 60-day devotional. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook.