The Bible says: “We have stopped evaluating (appraising, assessing) others by what the world thinks about them. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, as though he were merely a human being……What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!” (2 Cor.5:16,17. NLT).

Your identity is your individuality or personality and one of the greatest crises in the world today is that of identity . Who are you really? Are you who the world say or think you are? The world rates women by their looks and sizes, so a lot of us invest a big chunk of our time and money on those things trying to be acceptable. The trend in female fashion is for clothes to be as ‘revealing’ as possible; it seems like the more sensual they are the better! The Bible says we should not love the world or the things that are in it which are: the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. (1 Jn.2:15,16). The world rates people by how much money they have, the size of their cars and houses, the kind of clothes they wear, etc.

On another hand, are you who others say you are? The apostle Paul said they used to assess Christ from the natural standpoint. People saw Him as a carpenter’s son and related with Him as a mere human being. They didn’t acknowledge who He was in the spirit. Even when he called Himself the Son of God, they wanted to kill Him. The Bible says Jesus could not do mighty miracles in His hometown because of their unbelief: they didn’t believe in Him. Some said He was John the Baptist, some said he was Elijah and others said he was Jeremiah or one of the prophets. (Matt.16:14). Butthank God Jesus knew who He was; He was one man that never suffered identity crisis. David’s family evaluated him from the natural standpoint. He was the smallest in the family, yet God had chosen him to be the next king of Israel. David was just watching over a few sheep, he had no military training; yet he was the one that would bring down the head of Goliath. He said: “He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” (Ps.18:34); He had been in God’s own military school, but his brothers didn’t know it Joseph’s brothers didn’t believe in his dreams.

You might even be assessing yourself by your own opinion of yourself; who do you say or think you are? Your opinion of yourself could be a combination of who the world and others say you are, on one hand and on the other, your background and past experiences. Gideon formed his opinion of himself by his family background. He said to the angel: “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” (Judg.6:15). Gideon’s experience had been that of Midianite oppression of his people which had not only left them poor but had also stripped them of every confidence. Your past ugly experiences might have made you into someone with a very poor self esteem, because you’ve allowed them to form your opinion of yourself, you have used them to appraise yourself. Some people have experienced broken relationships or other forms of disappointments or rejection and they have allowed them to define who they are.

When I was growing up I realised how powerful the opinions of others, especially when verbalised, can be in forming my opinion of myself and in creating confusion in my mind about myself. Who am I really? I am definitely not who the world or others say I am; and not who I even think I am. I am who God says I am. No matter who the world says you are or what other people’s or even your own assessment of yourself is, it is time to overcome that crisis by embracing in reality who God says you are, in His word. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Rom.12:2). The New Living Translation says, “….but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” The way we think matters a great deal, because, ‘as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.’ (Prov.23:7). We must let the Word of God mould our thoughts about ourselves. The Angel of the Lord said to Gideon: “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour.” (Judg.6:12). For you to do exploits in God, you must start seeing yourself the way He sees you. Fellowship with the Holy Spirit and you will begin to know God’s thoughts towards you, that they are for good and not for evil (Jer.29:11); that they are way higher than your thoughts about yourself (Isa.55:9); that they are precious and uncountable (Ps.139:17-18). God is not thinking about how to punish you and get back at you for the wrong you did; he is looking forward to having you repent so He can enjoy good fellowship with you, just like the father of the prodigal son! (Luke 15:11-32).

So start thinking God’s thoughts about yourself. You can also ask God to reveal yourself to you; He revealed to Peter who Jesus is. (Matt.16:17).

God bless you!

ev. (Mrs.) Funke Ewuosho