Not long ago, I was beginning to feel very happy with myself because I finally felt that I come to learn my identity. I started singing a song that spoke to who I am, entitled “I Know Who I Am,” by Sinach. I recognized that I was no longer bound by sin, and inwardly applauded myself for being “woke” in a spiritual sense. Consequently, I took to social media to write a post that really displayed my confidence. I spoke about what it means for individuals to know their worth and it was written with tons of attitude! To sum it up, I expressed that we, as people, should not allow the opposite sex — or anyone, for that matter — to mistreat us or assign us value.
Well, very soon after I posted my post on social media, someone very close to me posted on social media as well. However, the gist of their post was to quickly put women “in check” by telling them what they are not. Immediately, I became offended, but was unsure as to whether it was directed towards me, someone else, or a specific group of people. Honestly, all that I was aware of was that I viewed that post right after I posted mine, and my post exuded boldness.
From there, I believe that God took me on an extremely quick mental hypothetical scenario after reading that person’s post, and I almost came out of that scenario in tears…
I had been boasting to myself that I am “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). I thought that I made it clear to myself that I am who God says that I am; yet, within seconds my jaw dropped because of offense, and I highly valued that dear person’s opinion more than the Word of God. In that space with God, I saw quickly that the moment that person said something negative, I wanted to not fit the description. I wanted to not be a part of “those women.” I wanted with everything inside of me to be pleasing to this person and to be seen in such a “positive” light, that I did not remember that I have complete surety that God tells me who I am, that The Word of God mentions of being fearfully and wonderfully made, that the words of the song that I danced to triumphantly, never came to my mind. None of it! I really felt that God was asking me if I was sure that I was aware of who/what He says I am.
I felt rocked! I felt embarrassed, and completely unconfident. I felt like I was unprepared for any attack of the enemy because instead of remaining at peace (after reading that post), I became personally offended and hurt. Within that quick mental scenario, I realized that the enemy clearly wanted to attack my confidence, and that I was too easily offended. Satan wanted me to feel condemned. Instead, in that moment, I realized that my guard of God’s Word was not in my heart as much as I thought it was.
I realized that my identity was not ingrained in my mind.
I realized that the song, “I Know Who I Am” was for me like catchy phrases during a motivational speech, but none of that truth was recalled in that moment. What I expressed in the moment of reading that post was fear.
I was also hurt because I chose for man to tell me who I was. I allowed a human to “put me in my place,” and there was not a single word or phrase that was directed towards me. It was frightening to me when I recognized just how quickly my confidence dropped. My countenance changed. I felt “less than,” when God says that I am so worth it that He gave His only begotten son to save me from my sins. Then, coming to the realization that I valued the opinion of man over God’s opinion of me in that moment was something that I cannot begin to explain in words.
I knew what I did not do, and it is what followers of Christ tend to put on the back burner. I neglected to follow and recall the Word of God which states in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that we are to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. That means that whenever we think, hear, view, or see something contrary to God’s Word, we are to cast it down (also known as rebuke it/deny it in Jesus’ name) and correctly align our thoughts to be obedient to God’s Word. Another interesting lesson here is that if we do not do what 2 Corinthians says, our loving conviction from God can potentially lead to condemnation (from Satan) because we allowed negative thoughts to enter in and permeate our mind (also known as dwelling on negativity).
Furthermore, God’s Word mentions that we are to be humble. Even when something has happened positively to us, we must always remain humble and speak the truth in love. Finally, my friend, reading God’s Word is instrumental, of course, but meditating on it day and night is tremendously helpful with recalling it during times like my experience above. I learned such powerful lessons and am happily grateful that God checked me when He did.
Our value comes from Him, our worth comes from Him. We are His children, and we should never allow humanity to tell us who we are.
