Redefined With Arden BevereSample

The Identity Thief   

Our generation is called to change the world. I truly believe that. My mom often told her boys that the spiritual attacks we go through in life are based on who we are going to become, rather than who we currently are or who we used to be. In other words, the enemy will try to get us to question our identity so he can stop us from fulfilling our God-given calling. He wants us to doubt who we are called to be. If he can destroy our purpose, then he can more easily influence our behavior. 

We see an example of this when Satan tested Jesus after He spent forty days fasting and praying in the wilderness. Jesus had just started His ministry, and the devil came to tempt Him. The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:3). 

The enemy’s first strategy was to challenge Jesus’s identity in order to provoke wrong actions. In this case, he wanted to lead Jesus into an empty, selfish display of power and into satisfying His own human needs outside of God’s plan. He was trying to cause Jesus to sin, so he attacked His sense of identity. 

Remember, the devil knew who Jesus was. He didn’t doubt that Jesus was the Son of God. Rather, he was trying to use the rhetorical statement, “if you are the Son of God,” as a manipulative tactic to push Jesus into making a mistake. 

But Jesus didn’t flinch. He didn’t back down. Rather than reacting out of insecurity, He responded with confidence. He knew that doing what the enemy wanted wouldn’t prove His identity, and He knew He didn’t have anything to prove in the first place. He was secure in His identity and mission. The devil’s attack failed because there were no cracks of insecurity where his arrows of doubt could take effect. 

The enemy will use the same strategy to attack you—not because he thinks you’re weak, useless, or a nobody, but because he knows your true identity and he is frightened by it. As a child of God, you must have a firm understanding of who you are so that you can stay focused and avoid becoming deceived when tests and temptations come.