Who God Says You Are
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” —Isaiah 43:1
Isaiah 43:1 tells us God is personal. I love that word formed(v.1) because it’s so intimate. God may have spoken the universe into existence, but He formed you and me. Formed is the same word used in Jeremiah 18 to describe God as the potter with His hands on the clay, personally shaping you. He is not just making your life and bringing you into existence, but He is forming the kind of person you are. God is making you into who He wants you to be.
So when it comes to your identity, the critical issue is not what you think about yourself—you can’t be trusted! As Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Ultimately, the only thing that matters is what God thinks about you.
Tune in afresh to the biblical message of who God says you are, and allow His thoughts about you to shape your identity. You will discover a remarkably different thought pattern developing: “I’m not who my parents or my spouse say I am. I’m not who my boss says I am. I'm not what my performance says I am. I'm not what my appearance says I am. None of these! I am who God says I am!” If you begin to think those thoughts and let your mind be renewed, God’s truth will download into your identity and your attitude—you won’t even have to worry about your actions. They will begin naturally to follow out of who you know yourself to be in the Lord.
The process involves accepting the truths about God which affect my identity. This will result in an attitude that will naturally lead to God-honoring actions. That God is personal is one of those truths.
Isaiah 43:1 also tells us God not only formed you personally, He has “redeemed you and calls you His own.” God paid the redemption price of His Son’s life so He could have a relationship with you. He knows you by name. And He says, “You are Mine!” This is what God says you are. Let His truth form your identity today.
Journal
Which three actions (redeeming you, calling you by name, declaring you are His) means the most to you today? Why?
Pray
Father, You are awesome and I thank You for the awareness that the I am being shaped by Your hands today. Sharpen my senses to appreciate the care and workmanship You are lavishing on me. Thank You for paying for my redemption, for knowing and calling my name, and for claiming me as Your own. What delight there is in relishing Your grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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