Indisputable IdentitySýnishorn

The Identity Test

“Sherry, I really like you, but I’ve always imagined myself going out with someone . . . pretty.”

What did he just say? I wondered. Who says that to anyone, much less someone they’ve been dating for six months?

And if there were any question as to an accidental slip of the tongue, the man rectified it with this clarification: “It’s not all of you. It’s just your face.”

When God paused that man’s monologue long enough for me to say what I needed, I tongue-lashed that bully in just one breath and hoped he felt the fervor of my hanging up the phone 600 miles away. Then I cried. In my bundle of confusion, I spoke out loud, unsure whether I spoke to myself or the Lord: “Am I being punished for something? Why me? Why now?” But the one question I did not ask was, “Is what the man said true?” I didn’t ask because, in my heart, I believed it was.

And with that heartfelt belief, I assumed an identity: the ugly girl who was not likable enough to matter. Without considering this man’s lack of authority to declare my identity - I believed him. The next time I looked in a mirror, I literally saw ugly. The time after that, I literally saw grotesque. And the time after that, I had no words at all. I dimmed the lights in my apartment and removed every mirror or reflective picture frame that wasn’t bolted to the walls. I lived like that—in darkness, for three years until God intervened with truth.

When Jesus prayed to God, the Father, He said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17 NIV). He prayed on our behalf that we, believers, would be set apart or differentiated from the world by the truth, and God’s word is that truth. Knowing the truth intellectually is not enough; we also confess it (say the same thing as God says about it). As it concerns how God created us, the truth presented in Psalm 139:14 (NIV) says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made . . .” That means that we are each miraculously and uniquely created by God in a way that brings awe-inspired excitement. That is true.

• Have you ever been called a name or given a label that hurt or insulted you?
• What danger(s) can you identify in being unaware of the truth?
• Ask God to help you find one verse that will encourage you in an area where you may be prone to weakness.