Who God Is—and Who God Says We Are—in the Midst of SufferingSample

Healing Identity

When I lived with my biological mom and then in the foster care system, I had terrible things spoken over me, and I believed them.

For that reason, I didn’t like myself and became angry and mean to those around me. Hurting myself and causing hurt to others only multiplied and magnified the pain.

Then, I started going to church, and people within my church and community began to speak encouragement and life over my being. It has transformed me.

Healing begins and ends with identity. The balm to my wounds has been understanding who God says I am. What God speaks over me is very different from what I had spoken over myself as a child.

I want you to know what God speaks over you, too because in you God finds great delight.

When the world says we are unlovable, God says we are beloved. When the world says we don’t belong in a home, God says you belong in His Kingdom. And when the world says orphan, God calls us His own children—sons and daughters of the King.

As you begin this devotion, this is my prayer for you:

• May your victimhood make you a victor.
• May poverty inspire you to care for the impoverished.
• May the battles you’ve endured forge you to be a warrior.
• May curses spoken against you be the fuel that burns generational curses.
• May the times you haven’t felt loved cause you to never cease loving.
• May orphanhood compel you to be a worshipful child of God
• May earthly fatherlessness teach you to readily depend on your Father in Heaven.
• What have others said about you that has been hurtful?
• Who do you believe God says you are, and how does this belief bring you healing?
• How do you see God turning the worst parts of your life into good?