A New Identity

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

Linda had a very low self-esteem. She’d always felt second-rate in her own family. Ugly. Like she was a nuisance to have around. I’m programmed to be a looser, she thought. How can I possibly be anything else? She lived in defeat and despair.

Then Linda learned about Jesus Christ, how he had come to save us from sin and give us a new life. Hope began to whisper that she could be set free from her sin and the negative influences of her past. She gave her life to Christ. She began to read God’s Word and apply it to her heart.

When negative voices shouted, “you’re a failure; you’re no good” she would counter, “I don’t have to listen to you. That’s not who I am anymore. God has chosen me before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) It gave him great pleasure to adopt me as His child (Ephesians 1:5) I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13) She wrote these verses and others on cards so that she could carry them with her and say them often.

As she fed on God’s truths, her self-esteem grew. She began to excel in school, became a registered nurse, and a well-loved public speaker.

Linda affirms that it’s not what has happened to us in the past, but our belief system at the present–what we believe about God and ourselves now–that determines success or failure. Success is not mind over matter, but truth over error. “The truth will set you free,” Jesus said. (John 8:32)

Jesus, I am so thankful that because you live in me I have all that I need to live a godly life which brings blessing to You and to others.

by Helen Lescheid
Used by Permission

Further Reading