December 14, 2017
You are Who God Says You Are
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash (Matthew 7:26-27 NIV).
Friend to Friend
I have learned a lot from Charlie Brown, which is a little scary. Here is one truth that his psychiatrist, Lucy, taught me. She is counseling Charlie Brown at her lemonade-stand counseling booth. Charlie Brown is all ears.
Frame 1: “Your life is like a house, Charlie Brown.”
Frame 2: “You want your house to have a strong foundation, don’t you?”
Frame 3: “So don’t build your house on the sand.”
Frame 4: (A strong wind swooshes by and blows Lucy, Charlie Brown, and the makeshift stand into a heap of rubble.)
Frame 5: Lucy’s final advice: “Or use cheap nails.”
There’s a lot of talk about self-worth in our culture. But true self-worth is not an issue of giftedness, talent, intelligence, or beauty. It’s not an issue of how much money you have in the bank, if you are married or single, if you are a mom or childless. Those are the cheap nails compared to knowing Christ.
When we base our identity or our worth on the accomplishments, opinions of others, or appearance, we are in danger of crumbling to pieces with a word of criticism, a bad hair day, or hint of rejection. We will always fall short in our quest to be better, look better, or accomplish more.
Self-worth is really an identity issue. When you base your self-worth on your identity in Christ and His finished work of redemption on the cross, it is unconditional, unshakable, and unchangeable.
Listen, the devil will do anything and everything he can to keep you from believing the truth about who you are, what you have, and where you are as a child of God. Make no mistake about it, he knows that you are a chosen, holy, dearly loved child of God who has been forgiven of all your sins and created to fulfill a great purpose that God has already planned for you. He knows it, and he hates it. His goal is to keep you from believing it. And if he can keep you from believing the truth about who you are, what you have, and where you are as a child of God, then he has won.
You can access the power of God’s promises about who you are, what you have, and where you are in Christ to consistently subdue and eventually erase feeling of inferiority, insecurity and inadequacy that keep you stuck in a mediocre faith. You can reject the devil’s overbearing lies and replace them with God’s overriding truth about your identity in Him and His power in you.
If we base our significance, self-worth, or self-esteem on anything other than the strong nails of our identity in Christ, then we are at risk of collapsing when the strong winds of adversity come our way. The truth is: You are who God says you are.
You, my friend, are a chosen, holy, dearly loved child of God who is equipped by the Father, enveloped by the Son, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. And that truth will withstand the strongest winds.
Let’s Pray
Lord, help me to remember that my worth is based on who I am as Your child. According to Your Word, I am valuable, worthy, cleansed, forgiven and free. I am more than a conqueror who has been sealed by the Holy Spirit. I am Your workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works that You have prepared in advance for me to do.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
OK, so Today’s Truth was a downer, so let’s look at the rest of the verse!
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock (Matthew 7:24-25 NIV).
What are some of the cheap nails upon which you tend to base your self-worth?
What are some of the solid truths of Scripture upon which you will now and forever more base your self-worth?
I want you to get your true identity in Christ so engrained in your soul, that you will be preloaded with the truth to fight the devil when he tells you that you are less than who God says you are. That’s why I created this laminated card chock full of Scriptural truths about your true identity. Click here to learn more.
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