Life-Giving Words of Hope & Encouragement

There are days when I can feel it happening in real time: life trying to rename me.

Not with a literal label on my shirt, but with pressure that whispers, “This is who you are now.” A bad report tries to name me “hopeless.” A past mistake tries to name me “disqualified.” A season of waiting tries to name me “forgotten.” Criticism tries to name me “not enough.” And if I’m not careful, I start answering to names God never gave me.

That’s why this message hits me so personally, and why I wrote a book about it: https://a.co/d/0TYcPbK. We must remember who we are, not who we were. Not who they said you are. Not who your worst day suggests you are. Who you are in God’s eyes, in God’s family, under God’s covenant.

Because the enemy doesn’t have to destroy you if he can simply confuse you. If he can get you to forget your identity, you’ll shrink your expectations, lower your prayers, and live beneath the inheritance Jesus paid for. But when you remember who you are, something in you stands up again. Your spine straightens. Your faith comes back online. Your prayers get bold again. Your joy stops waiting for permission.

Identity Amnesia Is a Real Battle

I’ve learned that identity doesn’t usually get stolen in one dramatic moment. It leaks.

It leaks in disappointment. It leaks in comparison. It leaks when prayers feel unanswered. It leaks when people misunderstand you. It leaks when you replay what you should’ve done differently. It leaks when the same struggle shows up again and you think, “Maybe I’ll never change.”

And then you’re not just battling a problem, you’re battling a conclusion.

That’s the trap: the enemy wants you to turn a season into a sentence. He wants you to turn a struggle into a surname. He wants you to take a chapter and call it your whole story.

But God is a Redeemer. He does not define you by what you’ve been through. He defines you by what He has spoken.

God Calls You What Heaven Sees

One of the most powerful truths in Scripture is this: God calls things that are not as though they were. Not because He’s ignoring reality, but because He’s announcing destiny.

When God looked at Gideon, He didn’t see a coward hiding from enemies. He saw a mighty warrior (Judges 6:12). When God looked at Simon, He didn’t just see instability. He saw a rock, and He gave him a new name (John 1:42). When the prodigal son came home rehearsing shame, the father interrupted him with restoration (Luke 15:20–24).

God has a way of speaking identity into people before their circumstances agree. And that means I have to decide: will I agree with my feelings, or will I agree with my Heavenly Father?

Because agreement is powerful. You will eventually live out what you repeatedly call true.

Remembering Who You Are Changes How You Walk

When you remember who you are, you stop walking into rooms hoping you’re tolerated. You walk in knowing you’re loved.

When you remember who you are, you don’t beg for crumbs from people who can’t validate what God already settled.

When you remember who you are, you don’t let fear be the loudest voice in your head.

When you remember who you are, you can face what’s hard without being defined by it. You can say, “This is real, but it’s not final.”

There’s a difference between humility and identity loss. Humility says, “God is great and I need Him.” Identity loss says, “I am nothing, I don’t matter, I’ll never be used.” One honors God. The other quietly insults His craftsmanship.

You Are Not What Hurt You

Some of us have been through things that left fingerprints on our thoughts. Trauma can try to rename you. Betrayal can try to rename you. Addiction can try to rename you. Failure can try to rename you. Abuse can try to rename you.

But pain is not a prophet. It doesn’t get to predict your future.

You may have been hurt, but you are not “damaged goods.” You may have fallen, but you are not “finished.” You may have struggled, but you are not “weak.” In Christ, you are redeemed, restored, and re-authored.

I love that the Bible doesn’t hide people’s brokenness, but it also refuses to leave them there. God is not embarrassed by your process. He just won’t let your process become your identity.

Your Identity Is Inheritance, Not Performance

One of the most freeing shifts in my life has been learning this: I don’t earn sonship. I receive it.

A child doesn’t become a child by achieving something. A child is born into a family. And when you are in Christ, you have been brought into God’s family. That means your identity is not based on how perfectly you performed this week. It’s based on who adopted you, who redeemed you, who calls you His own.

That’s why the accuser always tries to drag you back into performance. He wants you living like a spiritual employee instead of a beloved child. He wants you thinking, “God will love me when I get it together.” But the Gospel says, “God loved you enough to come get you.”

Conviction pulls you toward God. Condemnation pushes you away from Him. Remembering who you are helps you tell the difference.

Don’t Let People Hand You a Name Tag

Not everyone will understand your calling. Not everyone will celebrate your growth. Not everyone will interpret your heart correctly. That’s okay.

People may label you by their limited lens:

• They see one moment and call it your identity.
• They see your struggle and call it your ceiling.
• They see your past and call it your future.

But you don’t have to accept every name someone offers you. Some labels are meant to be refused.

There’s a moment in the Gospels where Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I am?” Then He asks, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13–16). Identity always comes down to a voice you believe. Even Jesus didn’t build His mission on the crowd’s opinions. He built it on the Father’s will.

If that’s true for Him, it’s true for me: I can’t live fully if I’m constantly auditioning for approval.

Practice Remembering

Sometimes, “remember who you are” is not a one-time revelation. It’s a daily discipline.

Here are a few ways I practice remembering:

1) Speak what God says out loud.
There’s something about declaring truth that interrupts the spiral.

2) Replace self-talk with Scripture-talk.
If my mind is loud, I put the Word in my mouth. The enemy can’t outshout God’s promises when I keep rehearsing them.

3) Return to gratitude.
Gratitude reminds me God has been faithful before, which means He can be faithful again.

4) Stop narrating your life from the valley.
A valley is a place you walk through, not a place you build your identity.

5) Stay close to people who call out your God-given name.
Some voices help you remember. Some voices help you forget. Choose wisely.

You Were Made for More Than Survival

If all you do is survive, you’ll miss the point. God didn’t save you so you could barely hang on. He saved you so you could become.

Become healed. Become whole. Become courageous. Become steady. Become fruitful. Become a light. Become a voice. Become a builder. Become a restorer.

And when you remember who you are, you stop praying small. You stop settling. You stop expecting the worst. You stop living like defeat is normal.

You are not an afterthought. You are not a mistake. You are not stuck. You are not forgotten.

You are loved. You are called. You are chosen. You are equipped. You are being formed. You are held.

And no matter what today feels like, the truest thing about you is what God has said.

Prayer:

Father, in Jesus’ name, help me remember who I am. When life tries to rename me, anchor me in Your truth. Silence every voice of shame, condemnation, and fear, and replace it with Your Word. Remind me that I am loved, forgiven, chosen, and called, not because I earned it, but because You are good. Heal the places where pain has tried to define me. Strengthen me where I feel weak. Lift my eyes when discouragement presses in. Teach me to walk with confidence, not in myself, but in who You are and what You have spoken over me. I receive Your peace today. I receive fresh faith today. I choose to agree with Heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.