Let God Define Who You Are

 

• Labels, they come on food packaging, medicine bottles, almost everything. They can be helpful. Labels can keep us safe. But what about labels that aren’t helpful? Labels that people put on us? Labels that hurt or wound? Instead of dwelling on those, how can we come to believe the “labels” God puts on us? 
• How does God see us? What does He say?
• I love what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:10(ESV), “But by the grace of God I am what I am…” ‭‭
• So who am I? Who are we?
• Let’s start with John 1:12, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”. For those of us who believe, WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD!
• We are adopted into His family! And as adopted children, we have the promise of Jesus that nothing or no one can snatch us out of His hand! (John 10:28-29 NIV)
• In Matthew 5:14, Jesus says, ““You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Jesus also reminds us in John 8:12, that He Himself is “the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” So, when we have Jesus, we have the light within us. And when we have His light, we don’t have to walk in darkness. 
• Have you ever noticed how different everything looks in the dark? There's no color. Everything looks black/dark. You may know the objects are there, but they're hard to see, it's easy to bump into them. Or sometimes things take on shapes of their own, they may not be what we think. But turn the lights on and you can see clearly!
• But what does it mean to BE a light? I think of lighthouses, the beacon of light warns ships so they don’t run aground or get to close to rocks that may be in the way. The light helps give them safe passage. God's Word(Jesus) is like that. His Word shines a light. His Word gives us perspective. His Word can help us find the way. As Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”‭‭ 
• With His light within us, we can learn to see as He sees, we can learn to see more clearly from His perspective. We will walk as children of the light and won’t have to stumble in the dark! And since WE are the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, we can share that light with others so they can find their way too:)
• ‭ Psalm 17:8 says. “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,”(ESV)
• What does it mean that WE ARE THE APPLE of GOD’S eye? I like this definition from Wikipedia. "The phrase apple of my eye refers in English today to something or someone that one cherishes above all others. Originally, the phrase was simply an idiom referring to the pupil of the eye”.  I love the thought that we are cherished by God! In Isaiah 43:4, God says, "...you are precious in my eyes, and honored,  and I love you." In Psalm 32:8, God promises, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you." How awesome it is to BE the Apple of God’s eye! To know that He is protecting us, watching us, guiding us. We are safe in His loving arms! 
• I could go on and on! I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface. We are also, a New Creation; chosen and dearly loved; fearfully and wonderfully made; completely forgiven; redeemed; strong, victorious and never alone and many more “labels”, so the next time the enemy tries to bring you down with negative labels or reminders of hurtful words, you just remind yourself of who God says you are, because you, my friend, are a Beloved Child of God:)