Reminders for you, but mostly for me.
One of the easiest ways to lose yourself is to spend so much time listening to everyone else.
The world is constantly telling us who we should be.
Be productive.
Be desirable.
Be impressive.
Do more.
Achieve more.
Become more.
And somewhere between all those voices, it becomes easy to forget the one voice that actually knows us.
God’s.
Sometimes I catch myself looking for identity in places that were never meant to carry it. In people’s opinions. In achievements. In how productive I’ve been. In whether I feel wanted, successful, beautiful, useful, or “enough” that day.
And maybe you’ve been there too.
You don’t ask a doctor why a chair was crafted. You ask the carpenter who built it.
So why spend your life asking the world who you are instead of asking the One who created you?
You Are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
— Psalm 139:14 (NIV)
There are parts of ourselves we spend so much time trying to fix, hide or apologise for.
The things we wish looked different.
The quirks we think are embarrassing.
The parts of our personality we wish were more like the next person’s.
But God made you, and He saw that it was good.
You were intentionally made.
That doesn’t mean everything about us is perfect or that we don’t have room to grow. It means our starting point isn’t shame.
Our starting point is that we were created by a perfect God.
You Are Chosen and Set Apart
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession…”
— 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
Being chosen by God changes the way we look at rejection.
Because sometimes we let one person’s inability to see our value convince us that we have no value.
We let unanswered messages, closed doors, comparison, rejection or other people’s opinions become evidence against what God has already said.
But God’s choice of you isn’t dependent on whether everyone else chooses you.
You don’t become valuable because someone recognised your value; you have always been valuable.
You Are God’s Masterpiece
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”
— Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
This verse is a reminder that I am not simply existing. There is intention behind my life.
There are gifts in me. There are things I am called to do. There are people I am meant to love, serve and impact.
And yes, there are parts of me I may still be growing into.
But I don’t have to have the whole picture figured out to trust the Artist.
Sometimes I think we get so focused on becoming the person we think we should be that we forget to appreciate who God is already shaping us to become.
You Are Deeply Loved
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him”
— 1 John 3:1 (NIV)
Because how often do I try to earn what God has already given me?
I want to perform well enough.
Pray well enough.
Do enough.
Serve enough.
Achieve enough.
But a daughter doesn’t have to audition for her father’s love.
You Are More Than a Conqueror
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
— Romans 8:37
This doesn’t mean life will always feel victorious.
There will be difficult seasons. There will be disappointment, uncertainty, failure, and days when you question everything.
But those things don’t get the final say over who you are.
Your circumstances can change.
Your feelings can change.
People’s opinions can change.
God’s Word remains.
And maybe that’s the reminder we need most.
When I forget who I am, I don’t need to reinvent myself.
I need to return to the Author.
To His Word.
Because I am seen.
I am known.
I am loved.
I am chosen.
I am His.
And so are you.
Reminders for you, but mostly for me:
Stop letting temporary things give permanent definitions to who you are.
You are not your worst day.
You are not the opinion someone has of you.
You are not the thing you failed at.
You are not the door that didn’t open.
You are not behind.
You are not too much.
You are God’s.
And maybe today, that’s enough to remember.
With love,
Mwansa Mutale
