When We Lose Ourselves (Identity Theft)

I had a dream the other night. I didn’t remember it until I went out jogging later in the morning. That’s when God brought it back to me. I was in the house of a former friend from my school days. I was young (like I was back then). And the thing that happened is someone broke into the house and stole something. It was something very important to me personally: my wallet. Of course, a wallet contains everything about a person: driver’s license, credit card(s), cash, pictures of family, etc. It literally was my identity that was stolen!

Later on in the dream I remember entering a room that no one dared visit. (I’m getting chills as I write this.) In the room there were various pieces of furniture (chairs, end tables, etc). Some had cloths over them. It was a very dusty room. It was as if nothing had been touched in there in a long, long time. And let me just stress it again: I dared venture into that room while no one else would. The bottom line is: I found my wallet there! (tears) The thief had hidden it in that very room. (more tears) The conclusion of the matter and God confirmed it in my heart: He was going to return/restore my identity to me. (Sighing and more emotion.) I lost a portion of me in recent years (and long ago, too). Can I just be transparent? Things happen in life where we lose ourselves. Sometimes it’s of our own doing while at other times it’s circumstances, even other people who come along and steal our identity (who we are in Christ and/or who we were meant to be in Christ).

In the book of Genesis, the man Joseph had his identity stolen from him. (My middle name is “Joseph.” He was a dreamer, too.) If you remember the story, it was God behind the scenes of Joseph’s life to bring about a mighty salvation who ultimately returned/restored Joseph’s identity to him.

God’s in the identity restoration business. This is meant to be a word for you, too.