Hello! I am Debi Baczynski and I am one of the women at the well.
I got married at the age of 35. It was difficult for me to change my name because it identified me with my family, specifically my father. As the years went by, I realized I truly was a “daddy’s girl” and when he moved to heaven, I thought again about my maiden name and how I missed my dad.
My “Groat” identity is strong in my life, in addition to being a wife, stepmother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. All identities that I embrace and love. However in the world today, we are bombarded with other identifiers, some flattering and some not so flattering, that are based on things such as color of skin, national or ancestral origin, age, political point of view, religion, etc.
All of this makes me stop and think which identity is the most important to me and I realize it is this: I am a child of God. John 1:12 says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
What does it mean to be a “child of God?” My earthly father doted on me and told me up until his moving day that he loved me. Matthew 7:11 says “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” My earthly father would have given anything for me, yet it is nothing in comparison to what my Heavenly Father gives to me.
I John 3:1 says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” John 3:16 makes this love abundantly clear, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
What difference should it make in our daily lives to be a child of God? Since we are a child of God, we are joint heirs with Jesus. Think about that. We have access to all the riches of God just as Jesus does. Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Galatians 4:7, “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” Everything that allowed Jesus to endure life on this earth, including his death and resurrection, is available to us. We have that strength and power in us through the Holy Spirit. Yet do we use it or do we try and manage life based on our own power?
There are over 7,000 promises in the Bible which you can lay claim to as a child of God, promises that will help you cope with the day to day frustrations. Feeling fearful? Look at the promise in 1 Peter 5:7. Feeling anxious? How about the promise in Philippians 4:6,7. Feeling unloved? Read John 17, Jesus’ last prayer on earth, and see that YOU were on his heart and He prayed for YOU right before going to Calvary. Google “promises of God” and see all the promises that are available to you just for the asking.
It’s easy to say “claim the promises of God” but it requires constant, daily, moment by moment dedication to God and release of your cares into His hands. What result will you see? Galatians 5:22-23 tells you “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Stake your claim in your identity as a child of God. Release yourself into His Hands. And despite of all the craziness that may be going on around us, you will experience the fruit of the Spirit simply because YOU are a child of God.
