You can move into “an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life
renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God
accurately reproduces his character in you”. We can all be remade into new
selves, true selves—but God won’t force change upon us. He wants us to ask
and listen and learn and work with him. He wants us to do so continually,
because he also won’t reveal those true selves all at once. Rather, he’ll teach.
He’ll guide. And he’ll reveal identity iteratively, in a progression, in a process
that builds on itself throughout our lives. How this actually happens will be
different for each of us. We’re new creations. But, we’re unique creations too.
So, when God gives us something, just for us, when he allows us to discover
something about ourselves, we’ve got to treat those things with extraordinary
care. We mustn’t allow them to be lost or forgotten in the rush and charge of
life. We must collect and revisit them—so we can always have the best, most
complete picture possible of who we really are and whom we’re really meant to
become.
Get a notebook or create a document, one dedicated to this purpose. Record
what God’s revealed already. Recall moments when you just knew he was
speaking—maybe a trusted friend pointed out something true about you; or
the story of a particular person in the Bible stood out from all the rest; or you
sensed God showing you something about yourself, in prayer. Collect and
compile these things. Add more as you get more. Protect and preserve them,
so you can return to them . . . and return and return and return.
