WHO DO YOU BELIEVE?

God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! Romans 8:15–17 (MSG)

Things have been spoken into your life that have helped you to become who you are today.

In elementary school, a well-meaning teacher may put their arm around a child to say, “Sweetheart, just because you find the answers a little slower than everyone else, it doesn’t mean that you are dumb. You’re special too.” Sounds like a great thing to say, but this comment can bring a child’s attention to the fact that they find answers more slowly. If their brain hooks onto that thought, they will come to believe that they’ll always be slower than everyone else.

A well-meaning uncle or aunt might add to the problem by saying, “Oh man, you have your great granddaddy’s genes. I can tell!” Although this doesn’t sound like an insult, it can have a negative effect on that child if great granddad was an alcoholic or couldn’t hold down a job.

The problem is that we move toward what we believe, whether we like it or not.

If you believe you are slower than everyone else or that you’re just like your alcoholic granddad, it’s going to affect you. People develop their core beliefs by the time they are 20 years old, but you can choose to change your beliefs. You don’t have to put up with the identity you currently hold for the rest of your life.

So, where did your identity come from? Who have you believed over the years? Instead, start believing that you’re God’s kid—and an unbelievable inheritance is yours!