What lies have you believed about yourself? For me, I thought that if I wasn’t perfect than I was worthless. If I made a mistake, I would beat my self up. If someone criticized me, I took it as an attack on my character instead of acknowledging that it was something that could be fixed.
Often times, the thoughts I had about myself were unconscious. It is only now, in looking back that I see the results of my false belief systems- depression, low self-worth, angry outbursts and the like.
Identify the Lies
Some of the lies I told myself were:
- If I wasn’t thin then I wasn’t pretty
- If someone criticized me I was a failure because I wasn’t “perfect”
- My self-worth was tied to what other people thought about me
These are only a few of lies that I used to believe. What are some of the lies that you either used to believe or currently believe?
Until you can identity the lies, how can you know who God created you to be? You see, society and the enemy would like nothing more than for you to take your identity (who you are deep inside your soul) from external sources like:
- What kind of job do you have?
- How much money do you make?
- How thin are you?
- What is your political affiliation?
- What is your race?
- What is your gender?
- What is your church denomination?
Perfection Isn’t Possible
None of these matter in the long run. They are just external labels. You see it isn’t possible for any of us to be perfect. Only Jesus is perfect and it is Him that we need to take our identity. Jesus restored our relationship with God the Father by dying on the cross for our sins.
We are his children. Adopted into his heavenly Kingdom through grace. It is something we can never earn.
No matter how hard we try, we can never do enough good works to earn our salvation or to earn a place in heaven. It is a wonderful gift from God that cost Him everything. But, which cost us nothing. All we have to do is accept it.
Work With God Not For God
God just wants to be with us and wants us to be with Him. For too long, I thought that I wanted to work for God. But, that too is the wrong mindset. God wants us to work with Him. In partnership with Him. It is in Him that we have our purpose.
Conclusion
Next week I will talk more about who God created us to be. For now though, I encourage you to identity the lies that you’ve believed and cast them away. Hold on to the fact that God loves you and you are his child. He loves you unconditionally and there is nothing that can ever change that no matter how much you think you’ve messed up.
God knows that we make mistakes. We sin sometimes unintentionally and sometimes intentionally. However, He’s already accounted for those sins when Jesus died on the cross over 2,000 years ago for every sin you’ve committed or ever will commit.
To find out more about who God created you to be, check out my guided prayer journal “Discover Your True Identity: A 52 Week Guided Prayer Journal” or check out some of the books on My Favorite Books page by Matt Tommey, Andy Andrews or Neil T. Anderson.
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