Please login to continue
Having Trouble Logging In?
Reset your password
Don't have an account?
Sign Up Now!
Create a Secure Account
Name
Email
Choose Password
Confirm Password

Week 2: Finding Her True Identity (Feb 24)

He sought out the poor and the lost
 

How do your friends, family, coworkers, or classmates see you? How does their opinion influence how you see yourself? Sometimes we find ourselves unintentionally swept up in the opinions of others, allowing their assessments to influence our view of ourselves. It’s easy to lose sight of our true identity and value.

Jesus understood what it was like to have others attempt to define him. After his baptism and temptation, he returned to his home in Galilee and began his ministry. While doing so, his very identity was questioned. Many wondered, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” He was clearly the local carpenter’s son, so who did he think he was teaching with such authority?

But Jesus knew without question who he really was: God’s Son. He knew his true identity and was not swayed by the crowd’s attempts to define him. He was and would forever be Emmanuel—God with us. 

  • He came to rescue those who are lost in false narratives and poor in spirit.
  • He came to restore humans to right relationship with the Father.
  • He came to reveal true identity.
  • And he continues to do so today.

We all struggle with matters of identity, but being orphaned and abandoned makes them even harder. By 8 years old, Carolyne had almost given up dreaming of a better life. Abandoned by her father and essentially orphaned at her mother’s death, she was then split up from her siblings and put under the care of an abusive alcoholic uncle. She believed she was only an unwanted burden with no real value.

Yet God continued to work. In 2010, Carolyne and her siblings were warmly welcomed into the Kipkaren Children’s Home. They entered a new community with loving families, security, and acceptance. Most importantly, they learned about Jesus!

Carolyne realized that Jesus too had been abandoned and chased away by his home community. But he also had the God-given strength to not be defined by worldly standards or understandings. Carolyne found strength in his example and began to be transformed by her true identity as a daughter of the King. (keep scrolling to read her full story)

Today Carolyne is a college graduate! She worked as a loan officer until she was furloughed because of the COVID-19 lockdown. Then, she immediately put her Business for Life training into practice and pursued agribusiness in sweet potatoes and chickens
, not letting her circumstances define her. Instead, she is relying on her identity in Christ to inform her next steps.

Now she joyfully shares:


Jesus came to heal hearts and mend our brokenness through revealing our true identity. May you abide and flourish in this abundant truth: you are a child of God, fearfully and wonderfully made.


________________________________________________________________

  • How have other people’s opinions about you shaped your identity?
  • Who in your life speaks life and wholeness into you? What do they say about you? Can you believe that they might be right?
  • Read Psalm 139:13-14: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Read each phrase as a prayer, out loud if possible, and pause. What is it saying about how God defines you?
  • Are there other verses you can find that speak to your true identity as defined by God?


________________________________________________________________


Carolyne's Full Story:

We all struggle with matters of identity, but being orphaned and abandoned makes them even harder. By 8 years old, Carolyne had almost given up dreaming of a better life. She was just a young girl when her mother got very sick and passed away, leaving Carolyne and 3 siblings behind. Since her father wasn’t in the picture, her grandmother took the 4 children in and tried to provide for them. But only a year later, she too passed away because caring for the children was too difficult for her. Then Carolyne and her siblings had to be split up between different relatives—Carolyne moving in with an aunt and uncle. But Carolyne’s uncle was an abusive alcoholic, and he and his wife would fight about Carolyne’s staying with them whenever he was drunk. Carolyne overheard these arguments and believed she was an unwanted burden with no real value, but there was nowhere else for her to go. 

The only hope in this difficult time was the bond between Carolyne and her siblings. Whenever they visited one another, they would catch up on life and help each other through the challenges they were facing. They promised each other that they would hold on to hope, trusting God to provide them with a better life. And that’s exactly what happened!

In 2010 the Kipkaren Children’s Home learned of Carolyne and her siblings. All four were warmly welcomed, along with many other children. At first Carolyne and her siblings had many questions: they didn’t understand that this was their new, permanent home. But the questions quickly faded away, and soon the thought of “going home” was gone because they knew they were home! They entered a new community with loving families, security, and acceptance. Most importantly, they learned about Jesus!

Carolyne realized that Jesus too had been abandoned and chased away by his home community. But he also had the God-given strength to not be defined by worldly standards or understandings. Carolyne found strength in his example and began to be transformed by her true identity as a daughter of the King.

That was all years ago now, and Carolyne is so grateful for the life that at one point seemed impossible. She even had the opportunity to attend college to pursue a degree in finance and banking! After graduation, she secured a job as a loan officer at the Microfinance Institution at Kapsabet in 2019. However, she was furloughed due to COVID-19. Undeterred and determined, she returned to her home village with the little money she had saved. It was the beginning of the rainy season, so she invested in farming on one acre of land that belonged to her grandfather. Half an acre was planted with corn and the other half was planted with sweet potatoes. The profits from the corn fed her and her relatives, and once the potatoes were sold she reinvested the proceeds into a chicken project. Her 50 chickens are growing well and will continue to be a steady stream of eggs (and meat). Carolyne has learned through all of this that her identity is not found in others’ opinions of her or in her circumstances. Instead, her identity is found only in Christ, and she is a daughter of the King!

Shawna can put content here

Sample Content
Puppies are fluffy.

Explore the other weekly devotions

Week 1: What's under the ashes? (Feb 17)

Week 3: From Despised to Deeply Loved (March 1)

Week 4: Drawing in a crowd (March 10)

Week 5: Being the bullseye (March 17)

Week 6: He was rejected (March 24)

Week 7 Part 1: Inspired by Jesus' Encouragements (March 31)

Week 7 Part 2: Good Friday (April 2)

Powered by Site Stacker