A Note from Tim Thanks to social media, we can tell the world—in a certain number of characters or with a photograph we’ve taken several times and Photoshopped to death—who we are. This is me, we say, as we smile, the sun shining bright in the background, and all is well in the world. Funny how we save the best and brightest posts for Facebook or Instagram.
I wonder, though, how many people know the real us? What we look like in the morning. Or the huge fight we just had with our spouse before we stormed out of the house. Or how much we hurt because we just lost something precious.
We have this human tendency to want to project our best selves, this image of perfection, to others. I get it. I really do. But God knows who we are. He sees our hearts. He sees the deepest parts of us. After all, He knew us before we were even in our mothers’ wombs. But how many of us know who we are, and how many live with that truth as their foundation?
Knowing who we are in Christ takes the guesswork out of figuring it out on our own. When we are secure in the truth, we don’t have to depend on things like wins, accomplishments, beauty, money, or even our failures to define who we are. Our identity depends on God. It is based in Him because we were created by Love, in love, and for love.
Living from this truth is critical when bad times come. What do we hold on to when our world gets shaken? When the deal goes sour? When the diagnosis doesn’t look good? When the future is unknown? But when we live from a place of depth, knowing whose we are, we can tackle all the emotions, like the fear, doubt, confusion, and anger that accompany trials. And more than that, we can use our stories, our skills, our talents, even those things that we think are imperfections to impact one person or many for Jesus.
I want to invite you on an adventure to live a life of purpose, passion, and meaning based on who you are in Jesus Christ. As you work through this study guide, my hope is that you will
• discover that your identity is found in Christ alone and that that foundation cannot be shaken,
• learn to endure hard times knowing that God has a plan for you,
• be challenged to live in line with your deepest, most heartfelt beliefs,
• understand the power of serving and connecting with others in meaningful ways, and
• engage in self-discovery as you figure out what matters most in light of eternity.
I admit I don’t know all the answers. The faith journey is a perpetual wheel in motion where we grow, learn, and are stretched day after day. But my hope for you is that this Bible study will deepen your relationship with God and help you reach others in ways that leave a lasting imprint.
How to Use This Guide Whether you’re a new Christian or a seasoned one, whether you work through this book with a small group or on your own, this study guide is designed to help you deepen your faith, learn about yourself (and others), and be encouraged to live a life that matters.
The study is divided into four sessions, and each session opens with a big idea; offers a set of in-depth discussion questions drawn from the DVD teaching, the Bible, and my book Shaken; and closes with prayer. The “Individual Reflection, Study, and Action” portion is meant for you to study on your own if you are using this guide in a group setting. This is your opportunity to meditate on what you’ve learned and apply it to your life in a practical way. Finally, I share a prayer from me to God on your behalf. As I was working on this study guide, I thought about you. I prayed for you. And I believe God will show you just how much He loves you and will remind you that He’s got an awesome plan for your life. This is true, even if what you’re going through looks a lot different than what you had planned or expected.
What do you need before you dive in? Though the Scripture portions to be discussed are included in this guide (New American Standard Bible version), you might want to have a Bible or a Bible app handy so you can look them up in the translation of your choice. And while space is provided for you to jot down notes, consider using a journal or digital device for additional writing. While you can certainly work through this guide without reading my book, you’ll maximize your experience if you do.
If you’re reading Shaken for the first time, follow the schedule below to coordinate with this study guide:
• Before session 1, read Shaken chapters 1 and 2.
• Before session 2, read chapters 3, 4, and 5.
• Before session 3, read chapters 6 and 7.
• Before session 4, read chapters 8, 9, and 10.
I’m excited to see what God is going to do in your life!
“It’s tempting to define ourselves or to measure our worth by the external—by how much money we have, by how we look, by the applause of others. The list is long. Think about this. Who are you when everything is going great—when the money is in the bank, when your home life is peaceful, when your future seems certain? And who are you when your world is shaken—when your bank account is overdrawn, when your relationship is on the fritz, when you haven’t a clue what tomorrow holds? Sometimes it takes a challenging time to really find out.” —from Shaken
SESSION 1 WHO ARE YOU? BIG IDEA for This Session We should never let others, material stuff, or circumstances tell us who we are; we should always be defined by our identity in Jesus Christ.
The world does not define you, but it certainly does try to. And often, we let it.
One day we fall into the trap of believing who we are has everything to do with our job, our impressive résumé, our goodlooking spouse, the amount of money we have in our bank account, the framed degrees on our wall, or a championship run. And the next, the world mercilessly drags away and destroys everything it once made us believe defined our identity. We get fired and struggle for months to find another job. We experience a failure that overshadows our past triumphs or accolades. We file for bankruptcy. We lose the game. We lose the house. We lose a loved one.
And when our world is shaken to such a degree, we’re left wondering, Who am I?
This is more than just a philosophical question. Know this: the world doesn’t get to define us, because God already did. We were created by Love, in love, and for love. If we know Jesus, we are His children. Knowing who we are in Christ and being rooted in that identity breathes life into us. It energizes us. It changes us. It gives us purpose. It gives us meaning. It makes us able to handle whatever doubt, crisis, or negativity comes our way. When we stop striving to let the world, our friends, our neighbors, or society define who we are and instead start living as children of the King of kings, we can live at our best.
Because our identity is secure, we don’t have to ride the roller coaster of life. We don’t have to live up in the highs or down in the lows. No matter what happens, we can live with confidence knowing we stand on a sure foundation.
GETTING STARTED In what ways or by what measures have you defined your identity over the years?
SESSION 1 VIDEO: WHO ARE YOU? In this video segment I talk about the source of our identity, Jesus Christ. When we know whose we are, we understand that we each have purpose and we each matter. When we give God whatever we have to offer, amazing things can happen!
Watch Video Session 1. While viewing the video, use the spaces below to record key ideas or any thoughts you want to remember.
Video Teaching Notes It’s not about who you are; it’s about whose you are.
We are God’s poem, created with a purpose.
The multitude is fed with five loaves and two fish—with twelve baskets of leftovers!
Jesus is not just enough; He is always more than enough.
God used a Scripture reference painted on eye black to do something amazing. God wants to perform miracles in you and through you too.
Video Discussion 1. Have you ever allowed the world to define you? If so, what made you fall for it?
2. How does the knowledge that God has a plan for you (see Ephesians 2:10) help you endure hard times?
3. In this video I share how God used the Bible verse references on my eye black to influence others. Can you think of a situation in your life that God used in a surprising way to influence another person or even many people?
TALK ABOUT IT 1. Here are some common ways that people define their identity:
• a family role like mother, father, husband, wife, son, daughter
• a job or career like coach, teacher, entrepreneur, student, business owner, consultant
• a talent or skill like athlete, musician, writer, graphic designer, actor, artist
You may define yourself in one or several ways. But out of all the possibilities, what would you say are one or two of the more important ways you define your identity?
2. Here’s a verse from the Bible that tells how we were made “in the image of God”:
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26–27)
What does this mean to you as it concerns living in the “real world”?
3. Think about the times you have disliked something about yourself or doubted your abilities. Do you think that in those times you were, in a way, telling God that He didn’t know what He was doing when He made you in His image? Why or why not?
4. Here’s another amazing Bible passage:
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:13–14)
What factors in your life make it easier to believe that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made”? What makes it difficult to believe that phrase?
5. What would your confidence level be if you believed wholeheartedly that you are made in His image?
6. Mark Stuart, the former lead singer for the group Audio Adrenaline, lost his singing voice and had to give up his music career at the height of his success (see his story on pages 31–35 in Shaken). You too may have experienced a significant loss that defined a part of your identity, perhaps a lifelong dream of owning your own business, being accepted into a certain college, or creating the “perfect” family. How did the loss make you feel initially?
7. Mark says that despite his disappointment, he chose to believe that “God was authoring a bigger picture” (page 33). Reflect on your answer to the previous question: What evidence of God at work can you now see in your own experience of loss?
8. Purpose is one of those words that people have tossed around so much that it’s hard to know exactly what it means. I believe that it’s intertwined with your identity in Jesus Christ. My purpose never was playing football. Instead, football was a platform, a means through which I could love Jesus and love others. What platform(s) do you see that God has given you to represent Him?
9. When Jesus decided to feed the multitude, all he needed was a boy’s five loaves and two fish. That small meal was more than enough. How does this encourage you to give Jesus whatever it is you have to offer?
10. Describe a time when God was at work in your life and you didn’t even realize it.
WRAP UP Today we have learned how important our identity in Christ is in accomplishing the purpose God has for our lives. Let’s close our time together in prayer. Here are some ideas from this session that can guide our conversation with God:
• Thank God for your being created in His image, for His divine thumbprint on your life.
• Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you in times of doubt or confusion of your identity in Christ and the plan and purpose He has for you.
• Ask God to open your eyes to how you can live in a new way and change your heart, not trusting what the world says but what He says.
• Pray for God to reveal opportunities where He can use you to change the life of one person or the lives of many
INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION, STUDY, AND ACTION When you know whose you are, it changes everything. It changes how you live, how you interact with others, how you connect with God, how you view and grow in circumstances that make you feel shaken. When you believe with all your heart that you are the object of God’s love, it can change your actions.
1. Think about an area in your life where you struggle with this belief about how God loves you. How does it affect the way you live, what you think about, and how you act?
2. When your identity is grounded in whose you are, it doesn’t mean you’ll never feel the weight of emotions like self-doubt or disappointment. When you feel yourself getting sidetracked, cling to God.
Picture a child who wakes up from a nightmare, tears falling down his cheeks like a waterfall, his tiny body shaking from fear. Picture his mother rushing to his bedside to scoop the child up and console him in her loving arms. Picture the child wrapping his arms around her, nestling his head into the crook of her neck. As the tears continue to fall, he holds on for dear life, never wanting to let go, trusting in her soft words of comfort that everything is okay. This is what it means to cling.
There are many instances in the Bible where we are encouraged to “cling,” or hold fast, to God (see Deuteronomy 10:20; 13:4; Joshua 23:8; 2 Kings 18:6; Psalm 63:8; 119:31; Jeremiah 13:11). One way you can cling to God is by knowing and believing what He says in His Word about you. You might want to memorize these verses so that in a pressure moment you won’t forget who you really are:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:13–14)
Tell yourself over and over:
• “I am created for a reason.”
• “I am created in the image of God.”
• “God’s got a good plan for me.”
When you are rooted in what He says, you can live confidently because you know these things:
• He loves you, no matter what.
• He has a purpose for you, no matter what.
• He can use you, no matter what.
Knowing and living these truths will change your life.
MY PRAYER FOR YOU Dear Jesus, I thank You for the person reading this book right now. Please reveal to them how special and important they are. Remind them that they are created on purpose by Love, in love, and for love. If they’re in the midst of a personal storm, I pray that You will tell them in their hearts that You have an amazing plan in store, no matter what they are going through. Give them strength and wisdom to trust Your purpose for their life. Make them more aware of the platform You have given them, and help them to walk through each day with confidence because they belong to You. In Your name, amen.
PREPARE FOR THE NEXT SESSION Before the group meets again, read chapters 3, 4, and 5 in Shaken.
“When who you are is grounded in whose you are, you realize it doesn’t matter what life throws your way. When your world starts to shake or fall apart, you can lean into Him for security, for safety. You can get through even the toughest of circumstances because God is on your side. He loves you more than you know. And He’s got everything under control more than you know. He’s got plans for you. Awesome plans! You and God are unstoppable!” —from Shaken
Copyright © 2016 by Tim Tebow. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
