Healthy Relationships - Identity (Daily Devotional)

Hello everyone, we're talking about healthy relationships and we want to look at the scriptures and see what instruction God has for us and one of the key things for us to note for a healthy relationship is to have a healthy self-image. Proverbs chapter 23, verse 7, the initial part of that scripture says, ‘for as he thinks in his heart, so is he’. We are who we believe we are. Beyond what people say about us, it's who we know ourselves to be that really impacts our lives. So, it's very important for us to believe who we truly are. As we look at the word of God, when we are born again, the Bible teaches us 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17, ‘therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation; Old things have passed away; Behold, all things have become new’. So, God has done a work in the life of every believer causing them to become a new creation. Old things, the things of sin, the things which made us disconnected from God, all of those things have passed away and now we have a fresh new life in Christ and we are a new creation. And for us to understand what this new creation is all about is key to having a right self-image. We can talk so much about our identity. The scriptures teach us that we have now been sanctified, we have been justified, we are God's beloved, we are blessed, we have been made righteous, our sins are forgiven, God calls us more than conqueror. So, there is an image of a victorious individual not in our own selves but because of what Jesus has done for us. You and I now are victorious and we face situations, we face life, we also face any opposition that comes through the enemy with this self-image that we carry. We really need to be rooted and grounded in this self-image that God has given us. So, in our relationships, the way this would play out is that when one carries the right self-image, one can receive of the true self-worth, security and significance that the word brings to us. We are secure in ourselves and thereby we are able to appreciate people for who they are and at the same time, we do not place unreasonable expectations on people or unreasonable demands because we see ourselves the way God's word shows us that we are and we see others the way God's word reveals their identity. And so, for us to really work on our self-image will be a blessing in all of our relationships. Let's pursue this. Let's strengthen ourselves and let's develop a God-based, a word-based self-image. Let's pray together, Father, we thank you for who we are in Christ. Yes, that is truly who we are. We are more than conquerors through you who love us. We pray that you will cause each one of us to walk in victory. And Lord, we pray for all our relations to be blessed, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. Thank you for tuning in to Living Supernaturally, for more resources to strengthen your spiritual walk, please visit apcwo.org.