The world can make us lose sight of our true identities. The voices around us bombard us with labels, and even we, Christian women, fall prey to this snare. Yet, our identity doesn’t lie in these worldly labels, nor does it rest in the throes of anxiety, depression, or self-doubt.
Our true identity is revealed in Christ Jesus, the one who sees us for who we really are. Each day, He invites us to see ourselves through His eyes.
In the scriptures
In John 1:12, we find a powerful truth, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” Our identity in Christ begins with accepting Him as our Savior and understanding that we are His children, loved unconditionally by our heavenly Father.
In Romans 10:9, we learn that openly declaring Jesus as Lord and truly believing in our hearts brings us salvation. This is not a mere declaration, but an embracing of Jesus as the Lord of our lives. As His beloved children, we rest in the comforting truth that He is always present for us.
In 1 John 4:9-10, we see a demonstration of real love. It’s not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Jesus’s sacrifice is a testament to the profound love God has for us. The next time you question your worth, remember that you are immensely loved by the Almighty.
And finally, in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, we are reminded of our worth. “You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.” The Holy Spirit resides within us, making our bodies the temple of God. Recognizing this can guide us in honoring our bodies and ourselves.
Conclusion
As we conclude today’s devotional, consider how being a child of God, being loved, and having worth changes your perspective about yourself. Are you beginning to see yourself through God’s eyes? Reflect on these truths and let them guide you on your journey to developing a healthy self-esteem.
The world will continue to label us, but we must cling to our true identity in Christ. We are children of God, we are loved, and we are worthy. Remember these truths, hold them close, and let them shape your view of yourself.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for thinking so highly of me that you sent your son Jesus to redeem the sinners of this world. You have shown me in your word, how important I am to you. I want to thank you for loving me unconditionally. Please help me to remember your words concerning me when I am unable to identify who I truly am or when I doubt my worth.
Thank you for everything.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Share with the community
What scripture has helped you most in understanding your true identity in Christ? Share your experience and inspire others in the comments below.
You Should Know
I’m always praying for my readers! Visit my CONNECT page if you have a prayer request for me to include in my prayers for you.
Do you ever have an attack of condemnation that causes you to doubt God’s grace and His forgiveness of your sins? This is a normal area of doubt, but it’s not the truth to believe that if you have repented you have not been forgiven. Will the Holy Spirit help me understand God better? Let’s explore this.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Crossway Bibles 2008).
Before any of us become saved, we are wicked and will live a life separated from God for eternity. But when we turn from wickedness and unrighteous thoughts through repentance, God has compassion for us. With His compassion, He forgives our sins instantly just as He did for the wicked in Isaiah.
Coming from a sinful nature, it may be hard for many of us to understand the power of grace initially. God created grace and by His thought pattern, way, and through Jesus’ sacrifice, it causes grace to be enough for the forgiveness of sins.
Remember that repentant believers are under grace. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand God’s love and purpose for grace. When you understand how much God loves you, you will rest assured that the free gift of grace through faith is sufficient for the forgiveness of your sins and you personally.
Just as we have little understanding of the heavens, we have minimal understanding of God’s ways and thoughts. But, when we find ourselves in confusion, we can rely on the Holy Spirit, whom Christ sent to show us love, give us spiritual understanding, and peace.
Pray Today:
Dear Lord,
Please help me never underestimate your gift of grace. Lead me Holy Spirit to understand the Father’s thoughts and ways better. Lead Holy Spirit to find peace in God’s love.
Do you want to become a believer today? I’ll show you how here.
Do you ever feel like there’s just not enough time in your day to do much more than say a quick prayer and a thank you to Jesus when it comes to your time with God? I did a poll on my Instagram stories and it was abundantly clear that time with God is a struggle for many women. We get busy, we get tired, we fall asleep, and then the day is over with no time spent with God.
Well Sis, I want to help you get some quality time in with God. Here are 5 quick things busy women can do to have meaningful time reading the Bible daily.
Devotional & Meditation On the Word
Idea number one is for you to choose a devotional and single out the anchor scripture of that devotion. Once you’ve done that and before you read the devotional, read the scripture word for word and then meditate on its meaning. You can follow this up by completing the devotional or taking this bonus step.
Open your Bible and read the entire chapter that the verse comes from in your study Bible. Use the study notes in the Bible for further understanding.
You-Version Bible Plan
Another idea is to consider picking and using a YouVersion Bible plan for your time with God. This is similar to the devotional idea, but many of the YouVersion Bible plans for example, can be 5 to 30 days long.
Additionally, follow the bonus step above for the Bible plans anchor verse(s).
Remember that there is no pressure to do the bonus step. It’s just a way to get deeper study in during your quiet time.
Do you ever feel like there’s just not enough time in your day to do much more than say a quick prayer and a thank you to Jesus when it comes to your time with God? I did a poll on my Instagram stories and it was abundantly clear that time with God is a struggle for many women. We get busy, we get tired, we fall asleep, and then the day is over with no time spent with God.
Well Sis, I want to help you get some quality time in with God. Here are 5 quick things busy women can do to have meaningful time reading the Bible daily.
Devotional & Meditation On the Word
Idea number one is for you to choose a devotional and single out the anchor scripture of that devotion. Once you’ve done that and before you read the devotional, read the scripture word for word and then meditate on its meaning. You can follow this up by completing the devotional or taking this bonus step.
Open your Bible and read the entire chapter that the verse comes from in your study Bible. Use the study notes in the Bible for further understanding.
You-Version Bible Plan
Another idea is to consider picking and using a YouVersion Bible plan for your time with God. This is similar to the devotional idea, but many of the YouVersion Bible plans for example, can be 5 to 30 days long.
Additionally, follow the bonus step above for the Bible plans anchor verse(s).
Remember that there is no pressure to do the bonus step. It’s just a way to get deeper study in during your quiet time.
Start A Book Of The Bible
The next idea is to begin reading a book of the Bible. Choose a book of the Bible first, then learn the context of everything that’s taking place in the book. Ultimately, this involves reading a summary of the book. I like to use The Bible Handbook by Daily Grace Co for this step.
Now for the reading part, you should read the book section by section. In each book there are chapters and in each chapter, there are usually sections. So read one section per day. In most books this should take no longer than 5 minutes per section.
If you want a deeper study, read the study notes in your Bible for more clarity.
Email Devotional
The second to last idea is to sign up for a daily email devotional from a Bible-believing and teaching pastor.
For instance, I love Rick Warren’s email devotionals.
Podcast
Finally, there are biblically sound devotional podcasts that are great to listen to as you get dressed for the day, are cooking, working out, commuting, etc.
One of my favorites is the “God Is Within Her” women’s devotional podcast with Valarie Reynolds.
I also have A surprise!
I will be starting my very own Her Faith Walk – Women’s Devotional Podcast in a few months. If you want to be notified when I launch, join the HFW Circle when you sign up for one of my freebies here.
Do you want to become a believer today? I’ll show you how here.
The fear and anxiety that we experience are not of the great God we serve. Many times our anxieties are imaginations that we think up to ourselves. We fester on them and eventually begin to believe them.
This is a snare. It’s a trap orchestrated by Satan. He doesn’t want us to trust God. He definitely wants us to believe that we are all alone. The enemy desires for us to be webbed into bondage by the thoughts and things that we are fearful of.
Have you ever thought of your anxieties this way?
Anxiety is not a God thing. It’s a tool to disable us from fulfilling God’s will for our lives.
Take Moses for instance. He was fearful of a speech difficulty that he struggled with. He actually didn’t believe he could effectively travel into Egypt and command Pharaoh to let the Lord’s people go.
Exodus 4:10But Moses said to the Lord , “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
Many times like Moses, all of us allow our shortcomings to disable us into fear.
But Proverbs 29:25 says, “whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
Do you believe that today? God’s Word is true and never lies.
The next time you are fearful or overcome by anxiety, remember this promise of God. We don’t always know how He does it, but God protects His children. He is graceful, merciful, and kind in heart.
We can trust Him over any anxiety.
I encourage you to break free of your anxiety trap today. Go forth and persevere in the things God has called you specifically to do.
Be not afraid and remember that God remembers us in our fear. We can be reminded by that in scripture when we read that Aaron was sent with Moses to be his spokesman.
Exodus 7:1
And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.
God is always for you and will not forget you. He is your safety.
Pray this week:
Dear Lord,
Please help me to overcome my fears and anxieties. Please correct my way of thinking and remind me that you are my safe place. Build my trust in you and my resistance to any snare.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name,
Amen
Do you need someone to pray for you? Send me your prayer request here.
Do you want to become a believer today? I’ll show you how here.
Has there been a time in your life where you neglected to read the Bible daily? For a good part of my twenties, I only opened my Bible when I needed an answer to something I felt I could not figure out on my own. See that? I relied on my understanding initially and wondered what Jesus would do secondarily. That is no way for a follower of Christ to live.
A follower should constantly be seeking out God’s will.
Do you agree?
Let me give you four reasons why it is imperative to read the Bible daily.
Reason number one…
The Bible is Our Daily Spiritual Nourishment
Humans need food and water to survive and prosper. The same goes for a follower of Christ. Spiritually we need nourishment for different things. Two things that come to my mind are to fight spiritual attacks and second to prosper as a disciple in the kingdom of God.
There are several other reasons that we need nourishment. I invite you to think of your own reasons and write them down.
Matthew 4:4 AMP says,
But Jesus replied, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”
Next Reason,
The Bible teaches us who God is
The phrase, “Who wouldn’t want to know a God like this?!” is absolutely true. Our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is awesome! God is multifaceted. There is so much to learn about Him. I guarantee that not one of us will learn everything about God in our lifetime.
Deuteronomy 7:9 ESV says,
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,
John 14:6 ESV says,
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Revelation 22:13 ESV says,
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Thirdly,
The Bible teaches us the truth
The Word is one of the ways that God speaks to us. It holds all truth and the promises of God toward us. God’s Word teaches us.
2 Timothy 3:16 NLT says,
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
Hebrews 4:12 ESV says,
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Lastly,
The Bible shows God’s love for us
Honestly, self-love is such a struggle for many, but we find some clarity about how much God loves us in His Word.
John 3:16 ESV says,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 5:8 ESV says,
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Wrap Up
These are just a few reasons why daily bible reading time is important. I encourage you my sisters, to commit as much time to read the Bible as possible. If you find yourself short on time, I have two ideas for you.
Prioritize your time in God’s Word to the top of your list of things to do.
If you find time to be an issue, consider using the Bible app or another resource to listen to God’s Word. You can do this while getting ready for your day, doing chores, or commuting to work.
Before you go, do you need prayer? If you feel led to, submit your prayer request here.
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. Romans 8:5-6
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