Who Am I?

We grow up in a world where we are bombarded by images, and people who try to tell us who we are or what we should be. We hear it from television shows, commercials, our family, neighbors, friends and even the enemy. Some of these messages can be affirming and positive, but they can also be hateful, demeaning and outright lies.

We’ve all had bad experiences with people putting us down. I remember once in the 7th grade a girl from our class looked at me and said, “You are so ugly” That was obviously very hurtful. But the worst part is, I believed her. Not because it was the truth but because I didn’t know it wasn’t true. I didn’t believe I was beautiful, so I believed what she said.

When we are young, we don’t know how to distinguish whether or not what people are saying about us or the thoughts we think about ourselves are right, wrong or even true. Before we know who we are and what our value is, we are looking to others to tell us. Our parents are some of the first influencers in our lives that can shape our identity. Unfortunately, some fall short of helping us do that. Not because they are bad parents, but they may not have known how. Afterall, babies don’t come with a handbook. 

Because we are not born knowing who we are and our inherent value, we look to those around us to tell us. When those messages are positive and affirming, we develop a strong sense of identity and wellbeing. Many of us though do not experience that. We have grown up hearing what we are not and made to feel ashamed of who we are. 

We can develop insecurities that cause us to put ourselves down, feeling like we just don’t measure up to all of the other amazing people. Insecurity is an epidemic. As adults, we can become a workaholic to prove how valuable we are, overly opinionated to be noticed, or reclusive because we feel we aren’t good enough. Some develop addictions to alcohol or drugs to mask pain or medicate with prescription medications. We always seem to find a way to ease the pain of not feeling enough. 

But…my question is…who is the one who determines our worth or value? Is it our parents, other people? It is an amazing feeling to have those around us that we care about tell us we are great people with valuable skills or attributes. But in reality, there is only one who can determine our worth, and that is God.

He is the one who created us, knows us best, accepts us just the way we are and loves us without conditions. He alone determines who we are and what value we hold. What anyone else thinks of us is not truth but opinion; and there is no shortage of those. It just doesn’t matter what anyone says about us, although to our hearts it can feel like it does. 

It also doesn’t matter what our own dark thoughts tell us. The enemy comes at us through our minds, trying to get us to take his bait. He wants us to believe the stream of lies he likes to fill our minds with. But…God’s word says he is a liar and the Father of all lies. Why in the world would we believe anything he says?

Why do we care what our enemy or anyone else thinks? Why do their opinions or cutting words mean anything? The words others speak over our life can become lodged in our hearts and keep us in bondage to them when we believe them. God wants us free from those judgements. He wants us to live up to our full potential, knowing fully who we are and who he created us to be. His word is full of Scriptures telling us who we are…it’s our job to take those and say them out loud in response to the lies. Our voice carries power to create our reality when it’s full of truth. 

I want to list here some of the truths about all of us that we can use to fight the negative things people and the enemy say to us. We can conquer self-doubt, dislodge the judgements of others from our hearts and begin to believe the truth about who we are by speaking Scripture over ourselves; by speaking affirming things over and over. This is how we develop our identity and begin to believe truth about who we are. Say these out loud so that you can hear them and soon you will believe them!

I can do all things through Christ.

I am bold.

I am worthy.

I am loved.

I am capable.

I am redeemed.

I am whole.

I am acceptable.

I am forgiven.

I am a child of God.

I am confident.

I am set apart for God.

I am beautiful.

I am strong.

I am everything God says I am.

I am not stupid.

I am not ashamed of who I am.

I am not insecure.

I am not fearful.

I am not anxious.

I am not depressed.

I am not jealous of others.

I am not alone.

I am not broken.

I am not unwanted.

I am not what others say I am.