Daily Devotional

In my role as a site pastor and a coach, I get a front-row seat to the modern identity crisis. I see it in the youth that I coach as well as the adults that I shepherd. No matter how old you are, there seems to be this constant, exhausting struggle to figure out who we are. Every day we’re bombarded with a never-ending source of noise. It comes from culture, advertisements, and worse - the unyielding algorithms of our social media feeds that are tailor-made to tell us who we are, what to think, and how to feel. We’re bombarded with digital megaphones telling us who we should be, how we should look, and how our lives would be so much better if we just had (insert your latest purchase here). I think it makes sense to look to the people around us to help us find our footing; the problem is that human perception is fickle and frankly inaccurate. We need a reliable, unchanging source to tell us who we are.

In the verse above, God says to Jesus, “You are my beloved Son.” What an enduring title that communicates so much. First, we see God as Father, Provider, and Protector. Then we see Jesus as a beloved, created, image-bearing son of the Father. And perhaps the most encouraging is that this title is bestowed upon Jesus before His earthly ministry begins, before He “does” anything. His identity as a beloved Son was not based on what He produced; it was securely locked in before He “did” anything. Elsewhere in the Bible, Jesus encourages His followers to “pray to the Father who knows our need” (Matthew 6:8), proving that we, too, are adopted as sons and daughters of the Most High God.

With my players, I love to see them perform well and work hard. But as a pastor, I have to remind them of a truth that I remind us of today as well, and that is that your value to God is detached from your performance. God’s voice pushes past the places where we feel awkward, insecure, or burnt out. He looks at us and says, “You are my child. I love you, and am pleased with you right now.” When the world tries to tell you who you should be, remember that the Coach of heaven has already spoken to your soul. God's word is the only source that matters, and it is where we discover exactly who we are.

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.