THAT IS NOT WHO YOU ARE: IDENTITY LOST

“And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” ~ Genesis 3:4

REFERENCE:

Genesis 3:4-11

Satan’s most effective weapon is corrupting a person’s sense of identity. If he can make you see yourself less than as God sees you, he can keep you perpetually defeated. Your identity matters so much that God had to make you in His image; He wants you to see yourself as ‘Daddy’s son or daughter.’ God’s image is your divine robe. Hence, satan likes to ‘disrobe’ God’s children.

Adam was the epitome of God’s creation; man at his best – healthy, super-intelligent, strong, and robed in glory. He could stand in God’s presence with no sense of inferiority or shame. God was shocked that Adam hid from Him because he said he was naked. “Who told you that you were naked?” was God’s response. Adam, you have listened to the wrong voice and have been deceived; you have let someone redefine you. That is not how God made you. He made you to reveal His beauty, to be creative and have dominion over all, not to be timid, hidden, and dominated. God looked at Adam and said, “That is not who you are; you bought a lie!”

Growing up, circumstances, teachers, friends, financial status, suffering, failing a class, etc., end up stealing our identity and redefining us. Although made in the image of God, you start to see yourself as ugly, afraid, shy, ‘unlucky,’ unintelligent, not good enough, and unsure of yourself. You end up like Gideon, a mighty man hiding in a cave, or like God’s chosen Israel, who called themselves grasshoppers. Say now with conviction, “THAT IS NOT WHO I AM!”

What nickname or definition have you taken that is not of God? What have you believed about yourself that robs you of God’s best? Who told you that you would not make it? Who told you that you are not good enough? Who told you that you are not intelligent, beautiful, or rich? Whose voice have you been hearing? I do not care who says these to you or makes you feel that way, they do not speak for God. You are God’s image. You are smart, intelligent, beautiful, handsome, rich, favored, blessed, desirable, confident, bold, and resourceful. 

Adam lost everything he had, was, and could have been because he listened to the wrong voice. Much of your usefulness is rooted in a healthy self-image. Don’t let the devil lie to you that you don’t have what it takes to be all God wants you to be. Stevenson Adlai E. said, “It is hard to lead soldier-horsemen if you think you look funny on a horse.” There is nothing wrong with you. You are the right size, height, and person for the best life has to offer.

PHOTO QUOTE

ADDITIONAL TEXTS:

Jeremiah 1:4-10 & I Timothy 4:12

PRAYERS:

+ I silence every voice that tells me I am not whom God says I am. Regardless of who says it, I refuse to accept the lie of the devil.

+ In any area of my life where I have been deceived and disrobed, I recover my identity. I take back my God-given name, and I reclaim my lost dominion.

+ I am who God says I am. I am strong, wise, blessed, resourceful, beautiful, and intelligent.