Embracing Who God Created You To BeSample

Why the struggle?

For years I struggled with a sense of low self-esteem. It caused me to become very cynical about lists of verses telling me who I am in Christ. I just couldn’t believe that God would call me beloved, chosen, cherished, etc.

In the end, my lack of embracing who I am in Him caused me to look to the wrong place for acceptance – and it almost cost me my marriage. Since that time, and particularly since I have started travelling around to speak at various venues and discovered so many others who struggle in this area, I have pondered why we find it difficult to believe what God says about us.

Psychologists recognize that we all have an inner need for security, self-worth and significance – we are born that way. But God is the only one that can truly fulfil those needs. So why can’t we simply accept how much we are loved and accepted by our heavenly Father and stop looking to those around us for our validation and a sense of worth?

I believe that we can too often look for a physical answer to what is a spiritual need. It may be that it seems to be a more immediate answer and could give some relief – but it doesn’t usually last. I did that myself when I cried out to God in my loneliness and despair – when He told me that He wanted me to look to Him for all my needs, I threw it back at Him. I wanted my husband to be there in front of me – I wanted the physical rather than spiritual answer. And that set me on a very painful journey of learning that God does actually know best!

Of course, the devil loves to keep us from fully embracing our identity, as he knows how powerful our knowing who we are is, and often dangles enticing things in front of us in order to distract us – which is what he did to Adam and Eve (Genesis 3).

Our culture is one of instant gratification, and it is easy to be swayed by it. We need to remember that God has all that will satisfy our inner thirst, but we have to be willing to drink from the right source.

Reflect:  Where do you get a sense of who you are from? Honestly reflect and take time to learn more about where the real roots of who you are come from (a great starting point is the scripture references provided here).