Embracing Your True Self: Living in Your Christ-Centered Identity With Jennifer SlatteryNäide

You are condemnation free.

According to Christian Psychologist Dr. Curt Thompson, we all have a fundamental need to feel seen, soothed, and secure. This requires a level of safety, sadly, Tom never experienced growing up. When he looks back on his childhood, he remembers chronic stomach aches he now knows came from the anxiety of remaining alert to possible threat. The pain and uncertainty he experienced as a kid affected his ability to feel safe and secure in relationships, including with God. And, when his fear or unprocessed pain caused him to react in unhealthy ways, he feared he'd sabotaged his salvation.

I’ve found this is a common fear. Yet, it’s also a major source of anxiety God wants to help us overcome. Our gracious Father doesn’t want us to live in fear—of judgment, condemnation, abandonment or eternal damnation. Throughout Scripture, He’s provided truths and promises to assure us that, in Him, we are always secure. Once we trust in Christ for salvation, Scripture says we’re sealed with the Holy Spirit, which verifies our present standing and guarantees the paradise to come. As Jesus said in John 10:28, He gives us eternal life “and no one can snatch [us] out of [His] hand” (NIV).

Journal Prompt:

What most resonates in your soul when you consider your eternal security in Christ? How are you most apt to view yourself: with condemnation or as a child of grace? Pause to reflect on John 10:28, written above. What comes to mind when you consider Jesus holding, and keeping, you in His mighty hand?