Know Who You Are
Who are you? What makes you, you? What is your purpose? These questions can nag at us every day if we let them. If you don’t know who you are, these questions can also bring you down. “Well, I’m just a mom, or a dad” “I just work all day”, “I’m just trying to get through the day”. That is not who you are. You are not your circumstance. You are not your job, or your position. You are who God created you to be. When we don’t understand who God created us to be, we often go through life thinking we are someone we are not. We believe what others say about us, good or bad. It’s like we look straight in the mirror and see the reflection through the world’s eyes. God doesn’t see us the way the world does. He doesn’t see us the way we see ourselves. He sees His child. Beautiful and perfectly created by His Hands. Imagine how empowered we could feel if we believed that about ourselves. God doesn’t make mistakes. Yes, we have scars from the world, we carry burdens from our past, we have insecurities that others have thrown on us, but we are not any of those things. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10. You have been chosen. No one was chosen for your position but you. You are enough. We tend to be so hard on ourselves, almost as though we put ourselves down before anyone else can as a defense mechanism. We have to learn how to be kinder to ourselves. We are literally the only person we can’t get away from. You are with yourself 24/7. Instead of being your worst enemy and harshest critic, try putting your own thoughts aside for a little while and listen to what God has to say to you and about you. He is also there with us 24/7, talking to us and guiding us. We tend to talk over Him and push what He has to say aside. You are not what you think about yourself. Do we pretend we are perfect? No! Looking at ourselves as though we don’t do anything wrong can be equally as harmful. We can be honest with ourselves and do it in a way that isn’t putting ourselves down. Balance. Knowing yourself will always lead right back to knowing God. Although we may never fully understand all of God, we can understand who we are. It is written many times throughout Scripture. We are undoubtedly connected to God, made in His image, hand crafted by the Creator. Nothing happens to us that He doesn’t know about. The world confuses this. The enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy- that means your relationship with God, and knowing who you are in Him. If the enemy can sever the tie between you and God, or even dim your light, he has gained a foothold. Get to know God AND yourself. Ask yourself, what makes you happy? And ask God how you can use what makes you happy to make others happy- ultimately making HIM happy. Our gifts are never for our own gain, but to give to others and bring glory to our Father. Did you ever notice when someone is blessed by something you did, and that you love, it makes you feel more inspired to continue? That is your spirit being lit up. God is in you, He loves you and He knows you. Take some time to get to know Him and love yourself. The more time you spend with Him, the more you’ll realize how much He loves you and in turn, you will learn to love yourself. Never give up. Don’t believe the lies of the enemy. He doesn’t get to dictate who you are. God already determined that.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10
“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.” Romans 8:33
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit- fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My Name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:16-17