Identity Change

One of the most memorable identity changes in the Bible is the story of Paul. Paul murdered Christians before he met Jesus. After Jesus changed his life, Paul desired for people to become Christians.

But another memorable identity change took place when Jesus met the woman at the well. In the previous devotionals, we have learned a lot about the woman at the well. We see that she finds part of her identity in her physical appearance. We also learned that the woman at the well was known by the community for her past. She was embarrassed. She was afraid. She did not want to be ridiculed by others, so she chose to get water from the well during the heat of the day to avoid seeing others.

However, don't miss what happens next. In John 4:26, Jesus reveals to the woman at the well that He is the Messiah. I can only imagine the woman's reaction after Jesus told her His identity.

Then, an identity change took place. John 4:28-29 says, "Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?" In those two verses, the woman at the well went from being afraid of being seen in the community to having the courage to tell everyone who she just met.

Jesus gives us the confidence to embrace our new identity. The first person Jesus revealed His identity to was a depressed and defeated woman who later became courageous enough because Jesus helped her see that she is more than her past. Jesus used her identity change to help others see that the promised Messiah had arrived.

Imagine what Jesus could do in your life when you embrace that your identity is not found in your past mistakes but in who Jesus says you are.