CBN guest writer and owner of the Taylored Heart blog Tami Kolbe shares about True Identity. We love what she had to say and hope you do too!
I am not sure if you have ever been in a situation where you are nervous about something. It could be anything from preparing to talk in front of a large group of people or even just one person for that matter. Or in my case leading worship at my church! As I was about to get on stage I turned to my friend to say, “oh my gosh I am so nervous!” and she responded with “you will be fine… just be yourself.” Now that is a lot easier said than done, especially when you do not fully know who you are.
As I have grown up I have not always been confident or out going, in fact I would not say that I am that woman now either. Although there have been some major things that have helped me become more confident in who I am, more out going.
I would love to share some of the things that have helped me step more into being confident in who God says I am, instead of trying to be like the girl/guy down the street or that person who just seems to have it all together. If you’ve found yourself in a similar space this past year, learning how to embrace your true identity, then I can guarantee that you will be stepping into a future that is liberating and full of assurance. There are few things more valuable than knowing the truth about who God created you to be and walking that out with confidence.
Let me start off by saying that we are all on a journey and no one gets to a place where they have it all worked out. God loves us uniquely (and on purpose) and there is no rush when it comes to identity. Below are just 3 particular things that have helped me on this journey and I would love to share them with you.
1. I MET JESUS
I could not have carried on in my journey through life without having met Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. In 2010 I realized that I can not do this life on my own. With years of striving and trying to be someone I am not, I was left feeling alone and desperate for a saviour.
At this fragile point, I committed my life to being sold out for God and to the purpose of building his Church. I had recognised that my life without him was empty, meaningless and I knew that if I wanted to know what it was like to live a full life I needed to know the God who gave me that life.
It’s in knowing Jesus Christ that I have come to know who I am, because it says in his Word that we are made in his image. Genesis 1:27-28
2. QUIT THE COMPARING GAME
As soon as we realize that comparing ourselves to somebody else is pointless and takes us down a road only to destroy, the better our lives will become. Nobody is perfect, not even that person you wish your life could be like… Their life is not perfect. The grass is greener where you water it, not necessarily on the other side.
I had to stop looking to others for affirmation. People are not perfect and they are unpredictable so therefore they will let you down, even if they don’t mean to. So if we choose to look to people to make us feel better or constantly look at others lives wishing we some how had what they had, it only leaves us feeling alone, sad and always seeking love from the wrong place. I learnt that, for me, God is the only constant in my life and I can go to him for absolutely anything. As, Senior Pastor Brian, of Hillsong Church says, “Comparison is a deadly game you cannot win. You’ll always come second. There will always be someone better looking, smarter, more spiritual or seem to get more breaks”
3. REPLACE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH GOD THOUGHTS
It says in Proverbs 23:7, ‘For as he thinketh within himself, so is he.‘
Our minds can sometimes be our worst enemy. Many things that we may think about who we are may not even be true, especially if they are not centered on who God says we are. Anything that is in our thoughts that we find is pulling us down or making us feel insecure are not from God but from the enemy. Mark 10:10 says that the enemy has come to steal, kill and destroy but God has come to give us life and life in abundance.
As soon as I catch myself thinking negatively I remember what the bible says about me and what God wants for my life because that is the truth. Below are some scriptures that have encouraged me so much during my journey.
We, as your CBN family, really pray that you are encouraged and excited to be who God has created you to be. To remember that God loves His children UNIQUELY, because He has created us all uniquely, for a special plan and purpose. No matter how old or young we might be God’s thoughts toward us outnumber the grains of sand (Psalm 139:18). Each one of these thoughts is good.
