My son came back home from school yesterday bursting into tears. Choking in sadness, he tried to tell us what happened. It was photo-taking day in school and most of the boys came with hair nicely “gel-ed”. He did not! During photo-taking, a small group of children and one adult commented that he did not look nice at all; just because his hair was not “neatly combed”.

He was badly hurt by the negative comments. He continued crying; wallowing in self pity.

While comforting him, Jen and I recognized this as a teaching moment. We reinforced our love for him. We reminded him that he is good-looking; much to our parental pride. We shared that God made each one special and we are valued by God regardless of what others might say. We taught him not to be affected by negative remarks but learn to defend himself without being rude.

Finally, he was pacified and was happy again.

During the time of talking with Victor, I was reminded of how easy it is for us (even as adults) to fall prey to negative remarks. All through life, we go through daily bombardments of thoughts like “you’ll never make it”, “why can’t you be as good as…”, etc. If we are not careful, we can actually believe in these lies. The moment these negative thoughts form a stronghold around our mind, our perspective of our identity is tainted and tarnished.

HOW WE SEE OURSELVES AFFECT HOW WE LIVE. 

If our perspective is always negative, we will be negative. If our perspective is one of insecurity, we live feeling insecure of who we are. If our perspective is one of fear, we live demonstrating a lack of confidence. These wrong paradigms, if not being checked, will begin to re-shape our lives and affect our future consequentially.

So the question is, “Do we know our identities? Do you know who you are? Have you momentarily forgotten about your God-given identities?”

As children of God, we must see ourselves through God’s eyes. We cannot afford to allow ourselves to be defined by the world. We can either believe in these negative remarks, and live beneath our potential in God or we can renew our mind with God’s truth about our identity in Christ and rise to live as a victor.

This is not some new age theory or self help philosophy. I am not talking about mere SELF IMAGE. We cannot be consumed by SELF (man-made theories) to make us feel good about ourselves. The self talk without being God focused can be self deceiving and in denial.

Our self image must come from God and His truth. God’s word is absolute, unchanging and true. HOW YOU SEE YOURSELVES IN GOD AFFECT HOW YOU LIVE. So, let’s focus on Psalm 139. These scriptures tell us a lot about our identities; the way God sees us. God is love and He values you. If we as earthly parents know how to value our children, how much more will our Heavenly Father pour His love on us?

• God knows you intimately (Psalm 139:1-6).

• God is always with you; even through extreme situations (Psalm 139:7-12).

• God created you special. There is no replica. You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-16).

• Your self identity is only as strong as your thought life. You need to treasure God’s thoughts about you (Psalm 139:16-18, 23-24).

So, as you meditate on these verses, allow God to speak with you about His heart for you. Stop believing in the lies of the world. Make a decision today not to allow the world and your surroundings to define you. Allow God to define you and BELIEVE His word.

So, the next time you look in the mirror, say this with conviction, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God.” The next time you are tempted to think negative thoughts about yourself, remember Psalm 139 and … remember that our heavenly Father loves you.

Blessings

Rev. Bryan Tan

Bryan Tan Ministries

Lifting people into their destinies