Battle Plans: Defeating the Distorter - Defending Your Identity

October 22nd, 2026
by Chris Bower

Who Are You in Christ? Discovering Your True Identity in God

Many Christians spend years trying to become someone better, someone different, someone more worthy. But what if the real journey is not about becoming someone new, but about discovering who you already are? If you are born again, God has already given you an identity rooted in His love, His Word, and His promises.

You Were Already a Princess (or Prince)

In Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale," a character named Perdita is abandoned as a baby and raised by shepherds. She works in the fields, lives among the flock, and has no idea who she really is. But when her true identity is revealed, she is reunited with her Father the king and marries a prince.

Here is the key question the story raises: When did she become a princess? The answer is that she was always a princess. The revelation did not make her one. It simply showed who she had been all along.

The same is true for followers of Christ. Your next step in faith may not be about becoming a different person. It may be about discovering who you already are in Him.

What Does It Mean to Be a Child of God?

Galatians 4:4-7 makes this identity clear:

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." - Galatians 4:4-7 English Standard Version (ESV)

The word "Abba" is an endearing term, like saying "Daddy" or "Papa." God is not a distant authority figure. He is a Father who has adopted you into His family and placed His Spirit inside of you.

What the Enemy Can and Cannot Do to Your Identity

This is one of the most important truths a believer can hold onto. If you are born again, the enemy cannot change who you are in Christ. The only thing he can do is distort your understanding of who you are in Christ.

He cannot strip your identity. He can only make you forget it.

When you lose sight of who God says you are, you start believing lies. You start defining yourself by your failures, your past, your mistakes. But your identity is not found in any of those things. It is found in what the Word of God says about you.

You Are a New Creation, Not Just a Cleaned-Up Version

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." - 2 Corinthians 5:17 English Standard Version (ESV)

Think of it like restoring a classic car. You can clean up the outside, shine it up, make it look beautiful. But what really matters is what is under the hood. When God restores us, He does not just clean up the exterior. He puts a brand new engine inside. The old is gone. It is not even the same person underneath.

What You Believe Will Come Out of Your Mouth

Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. What you truly believe will surface, especially under pressure. That is why it matters deeply what you believe about yourself and about God.

Romans 10:8-10 connects belief and confession directly to salvation:

"But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." - Romans 10:8-10 English Standard Version (ESV)

Speaking faith in alignment with God's Word and His direction is a powerful force. It is not about claiming whatever you want. It is about declaring what God has already said.

Speaking to Mountains: What Does That Actually Mean?

In Mark 11, Jesus cursed a fig tree that had leaves but no fruit. The next day, the disciples were shocked to find it withered. Jesus used that moment to teach something profound:

"And Jesus answered them, 'Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be taken up and thrown into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.'" - Mark 11:22-23 English Standard Version (ESV)

This is not about demanding whatever you want from God. It is about having faith in the power and plans of God. When something stands in the way of what God has called you to do, you can pray, declare His Word, and trust that He will move it.

A Real-Life Example of Speaking to Mountains

Brother Andrew, known as "God's Smuggler," felt called to bring Bibles behind the Iron Curtain during the communist era. Before crossing a heavily guarded checkpoint with Bibles hidden in his car, he prayed: "Lord, while You were on earth, You made blind eyes see. Now I am believing that You will make seeing eyes blind."

He got through. Eventually, he stopped hiding the Bibles altogether because his faith had grown to match the calling. He spoke to the mountain, and the mountain moved.

Are You Praying and Confessing the Right Things?

James 5:16 says, "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." - James 5:16 English Standard Version (ESV)

But do you believe you are righteous? God says you are:

"For our sake He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:21 English Standard Version (ESV)

Here is a partial list of what God says about you in His Word:

You are justified by His grace (Romans 3:24)
You are sanctified (1 Corinthians 1:2)
You are made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22)
You are free (Galatians 2:4)
You are blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3)
You are raised up and seated in heavenly places with Christ (Ephesians 2:6)
You have no condemnation (Romans 8:1)
You are more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)
Nothing can separate you from His love (Romans 8:38-39)

These are not just nice thoughts. They are declarations to be prayed, confessed, and believed.

What Does God Say About Healing, Provision, and Spiritual Attack?

Healing

"He took our illnesses and bore our diseases." - Matthew 8:17 English Standard Version (ESV)

God calls Himself Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. Obedience opens us up to the blessings of God. The stories of Naaman and the blind man healed at the pool of Siloam both show that partial obedience or redirected obedience does not produce the same result. Full obedience to what God says is the path.

Provision

"Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." - Luke 6:38 English Standard Version (ESV)

God does not need your money. He wants you connected to the economy of heaven and free from the fear of giving. Generosity is an act of obedience and faith. Abraham did not see the ram in the bushes until he was fully obedient on the mountain. Provision often comes on the way up, not at the bottom.

Spiritual Attack

"Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than He who is in the world." - 1 John 4:4 English Standard Version (ESV)

The number one response to spiritual attack is praise and worship. The highest form of prayer is worship. When you worship in the middle of the storm, God shows up. One of His covenant names is Jehovah Nissi, meaning God is my banner. In biblical times, a king's banner was his war flag. When the king arrived flying his banner, he was ready for battle. God's banner over you is love. He has shown up, and He is fighting for you.

God Is Always There: Jehovah Shammah

Another covenant name of God is Jehovah Shammah, meaning "God is there." Psalm 139 reminds us that whether we are in the heights of heaven or in the lowest valley, He is present. He goes before you. He walks with you. He covers your back. Why? Because you are His covenanted child.

The enemy cannot change who you are. He can only distort it. He can only throw enough at you to get your eyes off Jesus. But even when Peter started sinking, Jesus reached out and grabbed Him.

Are You Trying to Earn an Identity God Already Gave You?

This is the central question. Are you working for something God has already given you? The identity of a son or daughter of God is not earned. It is received. It is discovered. It is declared.

We need to find it in His Word, let it become revelation in our hearts, pray it, confess it, and live by faith in the destiny God has already prepared.

Life Application

This week, commit to reading and declaring Psalm 23 out loud at least six times before you gather with other believers again. Do not just read it casually. Close your eyes, slow down, and let each verse wash over you as a personal promise from God to you. Pray it over yourself. Pray it over your family. Let it move from words on a page to a declaration of faith in your heart.

As you do, ask yourself these questions:

What lies have I been believing about myself that contradict what God says about me in His Word?
Am I trying to earn an identity that God has already given me through Christ?
When I face pressure, fear, or spiritual attack, do I turn to worship and the Word, or do I turn to worry?
Is there an area of obedience, whether in giving, prayer, or trust, where I have been holding back from God?

You are not a slave. You are a child of God and an heir of His promises. The enemy cannot take that from you. He can only make you forget it.