Encouragement for Today - Jan. 19, 2007

 

January 19, 2007

 

“Know Whose You Are”

by Melanie Chitwood

 

1 John 3:1, See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.” (NAS)

 

Devotion:

One day at church when a man asked my five-year-old son his name, Zachary responded, “Zachary Patrick Chitwood, son of Scott Joseph Chitwood.” I’m not sure what that little five year old was thinking or why he responded that way.  I had certainly never heard this answer before, but I sure liked it!  Zachary knew who he was.  He knew who he belonged to! 

 

How would you answer if someone asked you who you are?  My first response would be that I am Melanie Chitwood: a wife, a mother, a daughter, a writer, a speaker, a teacher, a friend, and a child of God.

 

Yes, like Zachary, I know Who I belong to.  I know I’m a child of God.  When I was sixteen years old at a Young Life camp in North Carolina, I sat on a rock, gazed up at the stars in the night sky, and prayed a prayer that changed my life.  Lord, I know that You love me and want me to be in a relationship with You.  Thank You that You died on a cross to pay the penalty for my sins.  Thank You that I am forgiven.  I want You to be my Savior and Lord.  I want to live for You.  From that day forward, I was a child of God. 

 

The truth is sometimes I forget who I belong to. I forget that God alone gives me my identity.   If I dig a little deeper and answer with complete honesty the question of who I am, my answer  includes these responses:  I am someone who struggles with losing the same ten pounds; sometimes I respond in fear rather than faith; I can be selfish and not want to serve others; I’ve made mistakes in the past and can carry them around like a ball and chain.

 

The truth is that sometimes I let my past, my feelings, and others’ disapproval of me define me; rather than letting God and His Word define me.  However, the  closer I grow to the Lord, the more I understand that those other definitions are lies, not the truth.  God’s enemy, Satan, is a liar who wants to keep me from walking in the truth.  The truth of who I am is found in God’s Word.  I know who I am when I know Whose I am. 

 

Let these statements remind you of who you are and Whose you are:

 

Nothing can separate you from God’s love (Romans 8: 35 – 39). 

You are God’s work of art, His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10). 

God does not condemn you (Romans 8: 1,2). 

God loves you so much that the price He paid to have a relationship with you was His own life (1 Corinthians 6: 20).

Jesus is your Daddy (Romans 8:15).

 

God’s love for you is everlasting and unfailing.  He wants you to have a relationship with Him where you grow closer to Him and look more like Him as you abide in His truth.  Rest in the truth that His steadfast love never fails.

 

Dear Father, I am so thankful that I am Your child and that You love me.  I am thankful that Your love never changes and that nothing will take Your love away from me.  Open my eyes to any lies I’m believing about myself and my life.  Help me to believe only You – not Satan, not my feelings, not what anyone else says.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen

 

Related Resources: 

 

Who  Holds the Key to Your Heart? by Lysa TerKeurst

 

The Confident Womanby Annabel Gillham

 

Do you know Him?

 

Application Steps:

When you are tempted to believe lies rather than God’s truth, practice taking your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).  For example, if you begin to think to yourself, “God could never forgive me for this sin,” recognize this is a lie.  Replace the lie with a truth: Jesus has promised to forgive every sin – past, present, and future (Colossians 1: 13, 14).

 

Reflections:

Are you certain you are a child of God?  Have you prayed for Jesus to be your Savior and Lord?  You can pray right now and know that forever you are His!   

 

Do you recognize any lies you’re believing?  Ask God to reveal them to you.

 

Power Verses:

Colossians 1:13, 14: “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (NAS).

 

Romans 12:2:  “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (NAS).

 

2 Corinthians 10:5:  “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (NAS).

 

Proverbs 23:7:  “For as he thinks within himself, so he is” (NAS).

 

Proverbs 31 Ministries

616-G, Matthews-Mint Hill Rd.

Matthews, NC 28105

www.Proverbs31.org