I recently watched the movie “Overcomer” in theatres. It’s the newest film from the Kendrick Brothers (if you haven’t seen any of their other ones, you really should!) and I highly recommend watching it!
It focuses on a man who is a teacher and a basketball coach. The problem is, a factory that employs most of the city’s residents shuts down and leaves him with no team. And worse yet, he’s asked to coach the cross country team instead. That only has one runner. Who has asthma. The movie has a central theme of identity – how different circumstances can affect it, and what it looks like to be an individual is identified by God.
In the film, the main character meets a man in the hospital who he ends up becoming good friends with. This man asks him a very crucial question – “Who are you?” To which he replies that he is a teacher, a basketball coach, a husband, and a father. This is met with a challenge – “If all of those things are stripped away, then who are you REALLY?” Then came the quote that left the biggest impact on me – “Your identity will be tied to whatever you give your heart to.”
I left the theatre so inspired. I think that quite often in life, people struggle with that question. Who ARE you? The surface stuff is easy – we often define ourselves by our occupations, relationship status, or our situations in life. But our identity is so much deeper than these things! They can be stripped away from us in an instant, and then what? We become like the basketball coach who didn’t have a basketball team.
BUT when we allow our identity to be defined by Christ, it becomes UNSHAKEABLE. Nothing can steal it away. No matter what circumstances we are put under, it will never change.
I spent a few hours the day after watching the movie searching my Bible for who God says I am and crafting a list in my prayer journal. A list that I could look back on if I find myself in a place of questioning my purpose or my worth. It’s such a beautiful thing to read – I often have a tendency to listen to what other people say about me and let that shake my confidence, but when I turn my attention to what GOD says about me instead those things all pale in comparison. I want to share a little bit of my list with you, and I encourage you to look up each of these scriptures yourself (and make your own list!).
So who is Brittany Sonnenberg?
- I am a child of God. (John 1:12)
- I am made in His image. (Gen. 1:26-27)
- I am chosen. (Eph. 1:4)
- I am redeemed. (Eph. 1:7)
- I am forgiven. (Eph. 1:7)
- I am alive in Christ. (Eph. 2:5)
- I am saved by grace alone. (Eph. 2:5)
- I am His masterpiece. (Eph. 2:10)
- I am loved. (John 3:16)
- I am known. (Ps. 139:1-3)
- I am a new creation. (Eph. 3:17)
- I am complete in Him. (Col. 2:10)
- I am more than a conqueror. (Rom. 8:37)
- I am able to do all things through Him. (Phil. 4:19)
There is so much more where those came from! Spend some time in the word, searching for how HE defines you. A good place to start is Ephesians 1 & 2. Read the words, let them soak in, write down a list that you can keep on hand to remember who YOU are in Christ!
And please go see this movie. It’s such a good one.
♡ Britt
Letters From Britt 