Knowing Who You Are in Christ

One of the greatest struggles many of us face is understanding who we truly are. From the moment we are born, voices begin shaping our identity, parents, siblings, teachers, friends, spouses, even society itself. We begin to wear the labels they give us, sometimes without even realizing it. For many, those labels are affirming and life-giving. But for others and for many seasons of our lives the labels can feel heavy, hurtful, or limiting.

I know this deeply because I lived it.

For years, I walked around carrying names that were never meant for me. Not smart enough. Not good enough. Not pretty enough. Not capable. Never going to be anything. Those words carved themselves into how I saw myself and how I believed others saw me. They became the mirror I used to measure my worth.

It’s amazing how powerful other people’s words can be, how quickly they can lift us up or tear us down. Praise fills us with joy, but criticism can linger like a shadow that refuses to fade. Sometimes the harshest voices are the ones we hear in our own heads, repeating what someone else once said.

But then something changed.

It wasn’t sudden. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic. It was gentle… persistent… loving. It was God.

I began to listen, truly listen to what He said about me. In Scripture, in prayer, in the quiet moments when my heart was tired and cracked open, God began whispering a different identity over my life.

He said I was chosen.

He said I was loved.

He said I was redeemed.

He said I was fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

He said I had a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

He said I was His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).

Slowly, the old labels began to lose their grip. I started to exchange the lies I had believed for the truth God had spoken. And the more I listened, the clearer it became: Who God says I am matters far more than what anyone else believes.

I learned my worth not through the approval of people, but through the unwavering love, grace, and favor of a God who never once saw me as “not enough.” In His eyes, I was always more than enough because I was His.

And when you know Whose you are, you begin to understand who you are.

If you’ve been carrying the weight of someone else’s words, if you’ve been defining yourself by what broke you, silenced you, or belittled you I want you to know this: those labels are not your identity. God has named you, claimed you, and called you. His words over your life are the ones that matter. His truth is the one that endures.

And His truth is this: You are loved. You are valuable. You are chosen. You are enough.

A Prayer for Identity

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for seeing us fully and loving us completely. Thank You for calling us Your own and speaking life over us even when the world speaks otherwise. Lord, help us release every false label we’ve carried, every hurtful word, every limiting belief, every shadow that has tried to define us.

Teach us to hear Your voice above all others. Remind us daily of who we are in You: chosen, redeemed, cherished, and created with purpose. Restore our confidence where it has been broken, heal our hearts where they have been wounded, and strengthen our spirits to walk boldly in the identity You’ve given us.

Let Your truth take root deep within us so that we may live not out of fear or insecurity, but out of the fullness of Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.