Don’t Forget Who You Are

This weekend I had the honor of speaking at a ladies’ brunch at church. As I prepared to share my testimony, I thought of two key things that have helped me to start living as a prized possession, rather than a scraggly orphan.

 

Scripture:  

We cannot know who God is or who we are unless we know what His Word says. Sometimes we believe erroneous ideas about God’s identity and our own, whether through ignorance, bad teaching, or unfortunate circumstances.

Since God began to heal me from past hurts and help me to understand my worth as a child of God, I’ve been blessed by many scriptures, but this is the one I cling to:

No matter how rough it gets, I can always trust that I will see God’s goodness. That’s so reassuring to someone who’d lost sight of the goodness of God and wasn’t fully here in the land of the living. Now I know that I can trust God’s goodness in any circumstance, because He’s demonstrated it over and over again. Even when I can’t see it at the moment (like the sun, when hidden from us at night time), I can always rely on His goodness.

 

Wise Counsel:

Chances are that whatever circumstances keep us from seeing our true worth aren’t uncommon. Most likely, someone else has dealt with the same thoughts and feelings about a lack of worth and can offer guidance. Sometimes a simple word of encouragement or affirmation goes a long way to helping someone remember who she is in Christ.

I have a dear friend and mentor who reared her four children overseas on the mission field. She told me that when they were little, she’d tell them, “Don’t forget who you are,” as they’d go out into the neighborhood to play. If they lost their way or ran into trouble, at least they’d know how to explain where they lived and who they belonged to. Then, when they were older, the admonition still applied—only spiritually.

“Don’t forget who you are,” my mentor still reminds me occasionally.

 

 

The key to living like we believe God when He calls us His own is first be convinced in our hearts. Through scripture and wise words from people we trust, we can renew our minds and fully grasp Whose we are and who we are.

Your turn: Have you had any revelations about your identity in Christ? What helped you to see your worth more clearly?