Who Does God Say That I Am?

“Who are you?” is one if the simplest yet complex questions for many of us to answer. How do we put into words who we are in a way that someone else can actually understand us? My mind reflects to my time as a hiring manager. The first question in every interview was always the infamous, “Tell me about yourself.” I can remember candidates running down the list of every skill they possess and giving great details about their families and loved ones.

And yes, it seems describing the people you care about and things you’re good at tells us exactly who you are. But after every answer I would get like this, I would still ponder on who the individual really was to the core. I remember just how badly I wished people would express their values and character traits when answering the question. I wanted someone to say they were kind, loving, responsible, humble, short-tempered, thoughtful, or purposeful. Contrary to what most people think, our identity is not what we do or who we love, but it is who God has called and formed us to be. Who we are at the core is who God says we are. Our identity is found in Him and His word shapes who we become even more so over time.

There have been many times in my life where I questioned if I was good enough for this or for that? I can recall the negative thoughts I used to describe myself. Many of these thoughts were shaped by external factors. I was bullied terribly growing up, so this experience gave me a negative outlook on my self-perception. Despite being an honor student, I thought I was stupid. I thought I was unlovable, unwanted, ugly and purposeless. All this sounds so harsh, but it was my truth. These thoughts made me want to give up on life many days. I share with others often, how I was a sad kid growing up. That sadness was credited to the fact that I allowed people’s false perception of me, tell me who I was! Their lies became my truth!

Well, what changed you might ask? The main change was how often I spoke to the Lord and read the Bible searching for answers about myself. I know it sounds cliché’ but the more I communicated with him and sought after his will for my life, the more he affirmed the things he had already established about me. The Lord began to reveal to me the many good things He put in me. His word says in Genesis that he created male and female in his image. Humankind was created in the image of God and He said it was good.

No matter what negative thoughts you have about yourself, remember that God created you and looked at the finished work of His masterpiece (You) and thought it was good. I want to remind you that God says you are loved, strong, victorious, courageous, and most importantly, His. You belong to Him and that’s reason enough not to look down on yourself. He thinks you are amazing because that’s how he envisioned you from the beginning. Your purpose in life is to live a life that speaks to who He is.

Live in consideration of who He says you are and what he thinks about you. Live like you are victorious, loved, and made in His image. That’s right, walk with your head held high, knowing that the one who created the heavens and the earth, loves little ole you and thinks you are quite awesome. Even on your worst days, His love and thoughts toward you will never change.

To go along with focusing on my relationship with God, I also spent time practicing saying good things about myself until I could believe them. The Bible says life and death are in the power of the tongue. We can speak to ourselves to build up our self-esteem. I would spend time each day reminding myself of who God said I am and saying it aloud to myself until I could believe it. Affirmations are important to shut down the wicked thoughts of the enemy and walk in the fullness of who God has called you to be. Starting today, make a conscious effort to speak positively about yourself. Try to stop yourself right in your tracks when you start to speak negatively about yourself. You are royalty!

Check out my last post for more encouragement.

Also, here’s a song I like to listen to for a reminder about what God says about me.