The Identity Series: Episode 2

Your Sole Purpose

What is the first step to walking fully in your God given identity? What do you have to do?

I have good news for you, my friend. You don’t have to do anything.

A couple times a week, we do devotions as a squad. One of our first devotion sessions here in Costa Rica was led by an intern who lives here at the base with us. Her name is Kacie. She’s amazing. She’s in a season of discovering her identity and becoming more confident in who the Lord she says she is, too. What she taught on really hit home for me and put into words a lot of what I’m walking through with the Lord right now. The following blog post contains what she taught in her devotion as well as her answers to a couple questions I wanted to ask her.

 

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The world tells us that our purpose and identity are in what we do – but what does the Lord say? 

He says:

Your sole purpose is to be loved. Loved by the Father.

Contrary to the message you’ve heard for your entire life (on repeat!), you don’t have to do anything. All you have to do is be. Be loved. 

1 John 4:10:

This is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 3:23:

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

Wow, take a minute and soak that in. Isn’t that a breath of fresh air? 

It doesn’t matter what you do or where you go; your sole purpose is to be loved.

You show people His light just by being. You live out your God-given identity just by being. 

But how could you just be? Is that really enough? Yes, yes it is. 

I’ll say it again: your sole purpose is to be loved. And the truth is: you are loved. So, so loved! 

But the question is: are you gonna accept that love? There’s a difference between just knowing you are loved and actually believing it.

Here’s some questions I asked Kacie and her insight: 

 

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Q: What does it look like to practically live this truth out? To be okay with just being loved?

 

Kacie: “It all goes back to the greatest commandment which is to love God and love others. In order to love God we need to be in constant relationship with him. That looks a lot like always seeking him, everyday, and being intentional in the word so we can have that relationship with Him. It’s a back and forth. I can’t fully love Him until I know Him. He can’t fully love me until He knows me. It takes vulnerability on both ends. Getting to know God; knowing Him as a person, as Jesus, and as Holy Spirit. Wanting Him to know us.

I was always so caught up in knowing what my purpose is – what am I here for? What is my job gonna be? What is my mission from the Lord? Not knowing that always drove me nuts. Recently though, it’s been wild, because I’ve realized that it doesn’t matter. No matter what I do, no matter where I end up, all I have to do is be secure in who He is and knowing that I am loved by Him. It’s really all that matters. Once you are confident in the fact that what He says is true (Hebrews 11:1), your purpose is that. That is your purpose, just to be, be with Him.”

 

Q: How do you free yourself from the pressure the world puts on you to do?

 

Kacie: “All the issues we have, they’re all so intense. Like, where do I go, what do I do? They all go hand in hand. 

Living in Costa Rica, people here operate in a very different mindset from the States. Here, it’s all about relationship; relationship is more important than performance. In the States, you have to be doing something, all the time, and it’s all about results. And that is a lot of pressure, which I’ve succumbed to for most of my life. I’m finally at this place of peace and rest, where I don’t need to perform anymore. For me, a lot of that journey was realizing that I am operating with an orphan heart. When I realized that, it was just like a knife in the chest. I never felt at home anywhere that I was; I always felt like I was missing something, lacking something. I felt like I needed to be needed. In the States, I always had a role, but being here is the first time I haven’t truly had a role or title. Yes, I am an intern and a student now, but it’s just different. It was hard for me, not having a role to fill. I kept striving and striving; it’s a lot of stress and you just get exhausted. You wear yourself out. You’re never at peace.

…It’s amazing when you finally come to this place and realization that no matter what you do, God won’t love you any less. You mess up, you don’t tithe, you don’t fast – He’s not gonna love you any less. If you just sat on your butt all day, He’s still gonna love you. And now there is no pressure, there’s not gonna be this competitive spirit of what you should be doing. It comes back to seeking God. Just seeking Him.”

 

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This is something resonates so deeply within me. I’m in a time of my life where I’m trying to figure what I want to do. What my passions are, what I want to study, what I want my career to be; all the things. When I heard this truth, I thought- how can it be that simple? How can I just be? I’m on my way to being okay with being loved, but it’s definitely a daily choice. I have to choose to rest in his love and set aside my tendency to perform or do.

I’ll leave you with a question. 

 

What do you find purpose in? 

 

I encourage you to take some time to reflect on His love for you. You may know He loves you, but have you truly let that knowledge seep down from your head into your heart? Have you let yourself just be loved? 

 

Love, 

Emma

[email protected]

A big thanks to Kacie for her thought provoking devo and incredible insight!