Devotional: Who Do You Think You Are?

(photo credit: seanvslove.com)

   


     Have you ever heard that phrase: "Who do you think you are?"  Usually, it's spoken in a flippant and arrogant way, but that's not how I'm saying it now.  What I really mean is: WHO do you think you are?  If it were me, I might answer: I'm a college student; a runner; a daughter; a summer nanny; a babysitter; a proud dog owner; an insecure little girl; a broken person; a terrible leader; an even worse follower; a disrespectful daughter..... the list goes on.
     But is that really the list that defines you?  Hopefully, it's not.  As I'm beginning to figure out, those things do not define who we are, unless we proclaim them over our lives and begin to live in that reality.  Yes, I am broken and insecure and pretty impatient (that list goes on too), but those things do not define me.
     This week, I started using my morning walk to practice to talk with God.  As the week went on, I found that almost every day, the same prayer escaped my lips: "God, remind me that my value does not depend on what others think of me.  My worth comes from you alone."  Then, I would proceed to speak forth what God says about me and about you:

I am loved (Psalms 36:5-6)

I am quieted by the love of Christ (Zephaniah 3:17)

I am sanctified and justified (1 Corinthians 6:11)

I am the apple of his eye (Deuteronomy 32:10, Psalms 17:8)

I am free (2 Corinthians 3:17)

I am purposed (Ephesians 2:10)

I am given hope (Psalms 62:5)

I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I am an adopted son/daughter of Christ (Romans 8:16)

I am a light in this world (Matthew 5:14)

I have been set apart and chosen by God (1 Peter 2:9)

I have been declared righteous (Romans 3:24)

I am NEVER ALONE (Romans 8:38-39)

     Read those over a few times.  Which one speaks to you?  I encourage you to find the one-- and these are only a handful of the MANY things God says about you-- and meditate on it, repeat it and get it down in your heart.  It is no accident you read this.  It is no accident God spoke to you through one of these value statements.  He is madly in love with you, even with all your flaws and all those other things that describe you.  You aren't just a mom or a teacher or a construction worker or a student.  You are so much more than the world labels you as.  So, I ask again: WHO do you think you are?