Confidence Is an Inside JobSample

You Belong to God

I was the result of an unplanned pregnancy, and I was raised by a man who wasn’t my biological father and who hated me. For the longest time, my identity was “I have no purpose because my existence is because of an accident. I am a mistake. Mistakes don’t get to be loved.”

What do you believe about yourself? Maybe you believe you’re not smart, pretty, loveable, wanted, worthy, talented, or a good mom, wife or friend. Fill in the blank.

But hear me when I say this: nobody gets to tell you who you are—not your parents, your partner, your friends, no one—because God has already declared who you are. And he did it a looooong time ago: “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:4–5).

Let those words sink in for a sec.

No matter your past, your parents, your family, or your struggles, you have an identity that is unshakeable. You belong to your Father, God.

Furthermore, God has made you capable of remarkable things. In fact, he has made you “more than a conqueror” through him and his love for you (Romans 8:37).

So, what does all of this have to do with confidence?

Confidence is living as the capable, wholehearted person God made you to be. How do you get to be this person? By trusting God when he says that your true identity belongs to him. By believing him when he says that what he made is good and that he’s equipped you with every tool you need to handle whatever life throws at you. Cultivating real confidence means you trust that with those tools and with God walking alongside you, you can and will care for yourself well.

Confidence means we trust God, and we trust ourselves.

Write down the names and descriptions you received as a child, whether they were good or bad. If you see identities that don’t match you, hand them over to God. He’ll put them in the garbage disposal for you.