Redeemed Identity

Monday, June 22, 2026 | Dusti Palenzuela

Psalm 106-107

What a beautiful recap of God's loving kindness and mercy. Psalm 106 begins with thanksgiving and praise, expressing God’s blessing, salvation, and future inheritance. The main body of the psalm, however, recounts Israel’s repeated rebellion. Their focus drifted from God’s promises, allowing bitterness, selfishness, and pride to take root. They sought their own will and timing, compromised, and ultimately experienced the consequences of their sin.

As I read through these verses, I couldn’t help but think back through my own life. The countless times my self-reliance convinced me that my timing was best, or my pride led me to believe I had to work harder to earn what was freely given. The worst was when I shifted my focus away from God. My rebellious heart led me to worship and idolize things like my military career, status, perfectionism, being a military wife, and motherhood. None of those things could give me the identity I was looking for because my identity was never meant to be found in them—it was meant to be found in Christ.

Thankfully, God is faithful in our unfaithfulness. He never stops pursuing us.

Psalm 107 moves from rebellion to redemption. It begins with thanksgiving and praise and reminds us that if we have been redeemed, we should tell others about it. Maybe you are the wandering soul searching for satisfaction but still left hungry and thirsty (Psalm 107:4-9). Maybe you feel trapped in sinful patterns, brokenness, or addiction (Psalm 107:10-16). Perhaps you have made foolish choices and don’t know how to turn back (Psalm 107:17-22), or maybe life’s uncertainties have left you overwhelmed and exhausted (Psalm 107:23-32).

The good news is that God saves. In verses 6, 13, 19, and 28, we read the same refrain: “They cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them.” No matter where you are or what season of life you’re in, God is drawing near and inviting you to cry out to Him.

I can relate to more than one of the people described in Psalm 107. My choices led me down difficult paths, and many of the things I found my identity in were eventually lost or stripped away. Yet through that loss, God helped me find my true identity in Him. I still struggle, but through His grace, I’m learning how to struggle well, cry out to Him, and turn back to Him.