What Does God Say About Me? Finding the Answers We Need in the Bible
What does God say about me? Many struggle to grasp their unique identity, purpose, and worth. All the answers we need are found in the Bible. Let’s take a look!
What Does God Say About Me?
God created each of us to have intrinsic worth, identity, and value. His thoughts about us are never changing because He knows us better than we know ourselves.
The Bible says that God is love and that He created each of us for a purpose. He wants to show how much He values us through our purpose and through the love that he has for us. Our identity is found in knowing who we are in Christ because He tells us how valuable we are to Him. We cannot find our worth or our identity anywhere else except in Christ Himself because He alone gives it to us.
A Little of My Story
Feeling comfortable in my own skin has been a long process for me.
I was always tall for my age – strong and athletic instead of “skinny” and delicate. I loved the sparkly things in life while at the same time was happy playing sports, going fishing, or getting muddy while digging for worms or hunting for frogs to sell in our family bait shop.
I never felt as though I completely fit in. I didn’t like towering over the other girls. All I wanted was to be tiny and petite like them.
It was 5th grade. We were playing kickball at recess. The captains were named and they began picking teams. Because I was, hands down, the best kickball player there, I was always picked first or second.
The game started and I kicked the ball over all the bobbing heads in the outfield. As I ran my victory lap and crossed home plate, it happened.
“I guess she threw all her fat into that one!”
The words came from one of the girls. The kind I wanted so desperately to look like.
The words hurt deeply. I caught my breath as my heart dropped and used every bit of strength I had to hold back the tears.
Words lasting merely two seconds served as a loaded weapon for the enemy’s attack on a young girl’s fragile and already broken identity. At that moment I allowed words to define me because I didn’t know Jesus well enough. I didn’t know about the powerful Truth of His love for me.
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:37-39 NIV
When I looked at myself, I saw the reflection of those words used against me. And as the years moved forward, I continued to look into that mirror. A mirror that gave me the wrong reflection. One reflects the words and actions of others and of acquaintances, friends, and family. A view reflecting the culture, media, expectations, and traditions.
I failed to see myself in the right mirror — the mirror of truth. I saw myself as a reflection of a broken world rather than as a reflection of a very whole and perfect Christ. One who is
Healer
Redeemer
Omnipresent
Omnipotent
Comforter
Grace-giver
Father
I didn’t see myself as a miracle who was wonderfully made by her Savior. And sadly, millions of girls today don’t do the same thing today.
The world is different today. By all appearances, girls are applauded for their individuality. We see athletic and plus-size models rocking the stages and screens. Yet, I wonder, are the affirmations reaching below the surface to the souls of our girls today?
My time in ministry has given me the chance to sit across from many young women and hear their stories. And I also get another glimpse – one that comes through the lenses of my teenage boys. What I’ve learned is that nothing has really changed. Girls still struggle with their identity.
Why Do Girls Still Struggle With Their Identity?
For all the progress our world has made in terms of women’s rights, our girls’ soul-level knowledge of how wonderfully made they are is still far too often void. Women still fail to see their worth.
So, where are we getting it wrong as a society? With all the awareness, all the fight, and all the efforts to bring equality to the forefront, why are our young women still desperate to feel as though they are enough?
It is because we can’t solve this kind of thing with awareness and fight alone. It’s a deeper issue than that. Knowing who we are and how valuable we are starts with knowing Whose we are.
Long before time, God wrote our names in the Book of Life. He created us uniquely in His image. And He took the time to tell us in His Word that we are wonderfully made.
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” –Psalm 139:14 NIV
In order to understand our value, we must understand our Creator. It is then that we gain a new lens through which we can see ourselves. A lens that shows us what God says about us. And that is when the images on social media lose their power over us.
Don’t Let Distraction Turn Your Head
One of the devil’s favorite tricks is his use of distraction. He doesn’t just want us to see the world with all the shiny pretty things inside it. Or even to simply face the pain and drama it holds. Instead, he wants our focus on it. Bit by bit, we give the world more of our attention as the devil distracts us from the truth. Before we realize it, all the worldly things end up filling our time and we put Jesus and our Bibles on the back burner. Then the devil celebrates because he knows he’s weakened our armor and put distance between us and God.
The world with all its brokenness and pain also pulls us away from the truth of how lovely we really are. We forget that God doesn’t do anything by accident. That includes you and me! Our height, size, and features – are all for a purpose and all called beautiful.
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love … ” —Ephesians 1:4 NIV
I know the sin of this world has tried valiantly to knock you down. Social media, Hollywood, and everything glitzy tell us what beauty is. It is relentless in its pressure. Broken people hurt you and evil finds a way to claw at your resolve.
Let’s Talk About Your Mirror
How do you see yourself? In which mirror are you looking?
Are you looking at yourself in the mirrors of the trauma, abuse, or neglect that dug its ugly claws into your life? Or maybe in the ridicule, teasing, or bullying you experienced as a child? Or, it was in the simple words of condemnation you received when you made a mistake?
The enemy is diligent, but not creative. He uses deception well, manipulating the brokenness of others into a tool inflicting pain upon the innocent. The unknowing. The unaware.
But, friend, looking into the wrong mirrors isn’t where we must stay. Our God is bigger than any weapon formed against us. He will fight for us, and He always wins.
Together with God, you aren’t going to let evil win. You are going to kick the enemy to the curb and see yourself in the right mirror. You are going to see yourself in the reflection of a good GOOD God who loves you beyond measure.
Let’s Dig Into Scripture to See What God Says About Us!
We can’t live unaware. We must open our eyes, seek God’s wisdom, and speak His truth over any lie the enemy throws our way. Knowing that Truth means knowing what God says about us. It means looking in that mirror and seeing ourselves in the reflection of Christ. A reflection that says we are wonderful, marvelous, worthy. A reflection that says we are HIS.
1. When we see ourselves in the reflection of our Savior, we see beauty in the way He uniquely created us. We see an inside and outside wired and crafted by a God who created the oceans, the moon, the sun, and all things beautiful!
For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! –Psalm 95:3-6
But when we see ourselves in the reflection of man, we see what he has deemed beautiful through the lens of the brokenness he brings to the table. We strive to achieve it and grieve when we cannot.
2. When we see ourselves in the reflection of Jesus, we see our worth in who we are as opposed to what we do. He called us wonderful long before we were born. Wonderful because we are His workmanship, not because of anything we have done or have yet to do.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. –Psalm 139:14
But when we see ourselves in the reflection of man, we see our worth in our ability to meet the demands of each unique and broken human that stands before us. The criterion sways as does the depth and span of brokenness. Meeting each set of criteria is impossible, yet we strive to do so. Inevitably we come face-to-face with failure far too often.
3. When we see ourselves in the reflection of Christ, we see worth in His unfailing love, unending grace, and unwavering forgiveness. He is willing to go to the ends of the earth to find us and bring us into His loving embrace.
What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. –Matthew 18:12-14
But when we see ourselves in the reflection of man, we see our worth in another’s limited ability to love fully. Human love flows out of a reserve only as deep as our individual brokenness and imperfection. By its own nature, it is a love never capable of meeting another’s full need. So, we strive, hoping to be “enough”. Deserving enough. Worthy enough.
So, friend, are you willing to put down the wrong mirror? Are you willing to look away from the reflection of man and the world that he lives in? And are you willing to pick up the right mirror and see yourself in the reflection of the God who holds His arms wide, embraces your every broken place, calls you wonderful, and loves you without end?
Let’s pray together:
Dear Father, Today I come to You ready to see myself in Your reflection. I want to, once and for all, turn away from seeing myself in the reflection of my past and in the broken world around me. Today I want to pick up the right mirror – Your mirror. And see myself reflected in your perfect and unfailing love. I ask that when I say I am not enough, You fill my mind with Your Truth that says I am precious in Your sight. (Isaiah 43:4) And when I come face to face with the brokenness of another, you protect me and remind me to put my armor firmly in place so that I do not bear their image but remain in yours. Thank You, Lord, for the work You have begun and will finish in me. In Your most precious and holy name, Amen.
This Post Is Part of a Series
“What Does My Bible Say: Personal Answers to Your Big Bible Questions” is a series covering questions about identity, forgiveness, fear, and prayer. To read the other posts in this series, simply click on the image.
I’ve written at length about several things we can do to fully learn about God’s love and our worth as a child of His. My heart has been to equip you with strategies like:
Replacing negative self-talk with Truth
Reading Scripture and tucking it deep within your mind and heart.
Praying bold prayers in the Name of Jesus.
I’ve created things like an email course I call Longing for More than the World’s Reflection, an online Identity Factor quiz, and a whole series featuring stories from other brave women who have learned how wonderfully made they are.
I pray today is a new day for you. I pray it marks the day you begin a new journey toward loving yourself the way God loves you. And I pray your question, “What does God say about me?”, has been answered beyond the shadow of a doubt!
Wait! Before You Go!
Do you ever feel like you are not good enough, or not worth the love of God? Regardless of how much you try, do you find you are unable to break free of insecurity? I want to help you with that. Join thousands of others as you unravel your identity in Christ! Just subscribe below.
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