I Am

If you were asked to finish the statement, I am...what would you say? Would you say your name? Where you're from? What school or college you go to or went to? Whose child you are? What career or job you have? What your personality traits are? There are so many words we could use to complete this statement. However, the best way to complete the "I am" statement is by saying who God says you are. We need to speak the truths of God's Word. The only way we can know His truth is read and study them and allow them to become a part of us. Our identity is found in God. We need to confess God's Word daily. Too many times, we have spoken negative words over ourselves, such as I am not smart enough, good enough, tall enough, pretty or handsome enough. We are enough and don't have to be like anyone else. This is a lesson that took me a very long time to learn, but God has allowed me to get it! I don't need to be anyone else, but me. There are moments when I want to compare myself with others, but God reminds me to appreciate who I am. God has great plans for all of us. He wants us to believe it and be thankful for that. Our first "I am"...I am thankful. We have to be thankful for who God made us to be. I know it gets tempting to look at the clothing styles of others, how they style their hair, their height (trust me I know!), but embrace your qualities and traits. Embrace your uniqueness. You are one of a kind. There can never be another you. Psalm 139:14 says, "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." In this particular Psalm, David is giving God praise for creating him in a wonderful way. God created us in a wonderful way too! God loves diversity. It would be boring if we all looked the same, wore the same clothes, and had the same likes and dislikes. Thankfully, God gave us all something different to offer as far as our gifts, talents and skills are concerned. The next "I am" we need to talk about is "I am here for a reason." God did not a mistake when He made us. God does everything with a purpose and that includes creating you and I. We are here because God has need of us. Others need us. We are here to help, encourage, and do great things. We are here to make a difference in the world around us. Now, I know you might be thinking, "I am not in the career I want to be yet, I don't have the business yet or I haven't graduated high school/college yet. This is when your "I am" needs to have a yet on the end. Yet means I don't have it now, but it's coming. When we're in our "yet" season, we need to take steps towards reaching our desired goal. Keep going! When we're about to think or speak what we're not or accept what others say negative about us, let's remember who we are in God and what can happen. Let's speak I am beautiful/handsome, smart, responsible, confident, forgiven, a child of God, one-of-a-kind, a masterpiece, strong in the Lord, valuable, better, an overcomer, changed, loved, a future business owner, graduate, etc. Let's remind ourselves daily who we are and who we can be!