WHO AM I? If I was asked to fill out a sticker label to place on my shirt that read “HELLO: I AM...I would probably take a moment and try to think of all the different things that I would call myself, Nikki, Mom, wife, daughter, believer, sister, friend. Those would be all the labels that would immediately come to mind. The day I was born, I was given the label: Daughter. It was ingrained in me from birth that I was somebody’s daughter. The day my son was born, I took on the next label: Mom. A label that I had been waiting to put on myself, that I was excited to adopt as my own. “Believer” was another label that meant something special to me, a label that I adopted because of a special choice I made as a girl.
Those are all labels that I have been proud to wear. But if I’m honest with you today, there are labels that I have adopted or given to myself, that I would never put on my sticker for others to see. Labels that I have walked around with for YEARS that are always in the back of my mind. They keep me from saying things, doing things, or believing what someone else says about me. Seems silly right? “Quitter.” I remember the day that somebody called me a quitter. The words of ONE imperfect person were suddenly engraved on my sticker label. “Stupid.” I remember the day that somebody told me I wasn’t smart enough to teach my own children. BAM! My sticker label on my heart had filled up fast. Many of you came out of childhood with labels on your sticker before you ever made it to adulthood. You came into adulthood with labels that you didn’t even know were there. How were you to know? Or maybe you’ve picked these labels up as an adult. The world has thrown labels at you that you have adopted and allowed to be engrained on your sticker. Not good enough. Not smart enough. Not pretty enough. A quitter. A Loser. Not worthy of love. An accident. A mistake. A bad mom. A bad friend. A Loner. Selfish. Backwards. You feel it don’t you? You hear the words in your mind right now?
Listen up. If the label you have put on your sticker-or have allowed to be thrown onto your sticker for you- isn’t a label that God would give you, it doesn’t belong there. The enemy and this world wants to keep you on your back, feeling horrible about yourself. He wants to keep you looking down at the ground. He wants your mind to be so full of condemnation, you don’t think you could EVER be or do anything special. Not in this life, not for your family, and especially not for the kingdom of God. You know how I know? Because the enemy has kept me there for YEARS. And I’m ready to stand up and say NO MORE. No more will I walk around labeling myself as dumb, worthless, ugly, a loser, a quitter, a burden.
Let me show you for a minute what Paul wrote as he reflected on his past and his labels. “It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don’t deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp Gods church right out of existence. But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let this grace go to waste. “ 1 Corinthians 15:9 MSG
Paul realized that his past gave him labels. Labels that others had given to him and labels that he had given to himself. Labels that could have easily left him in condemnation. Let me tell you what God says about me! He says I am cherished. I am loved. I am forgiven. I am beautiful. I am a masterpiece made by the creator. I am an heir to the King. My life has a purpose. Read these words that David wrote. Read them slowly and let them sink in. ”Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.” Psalm 139:13-16
And so does yours. God wants to use you today friend. He wants to use you in your family, in your workplace, in your home, but that requires you to let go of those nasty false labels that you have allowed on your sticker. God says that when he forgave you of your sins; you were made clean! “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
A clean slate. Do you know what that means? That means that God swiped your label clean and allowed you to start fresh. And yet, so many of us allow those labels right back. I am here today to encourage you to talk to God today and ask him the following questions.
#1. What labels have I allowed on my sticker that keep me looking down every day? That keep me in a place of condemnation.
#2. Have I asked God to forgive me for the mistakes I’ve made in the past? If not- let today be that day. Read the following prayer below:
Lord, I ask you today to forgive me for the mistakes I’ve made in the past. The mistakes that cause me to label myself as unworthy or unusable to you. I know that when I ask you to forgive me, that you not only forgive, but you swipe my slate clean. I ask today that you would help me leave all those labels behind. That you would help me to adopt today the new labels that you give me. I thank you Lord that you love me so much that you would watch your only son be tortured and hung on a cross; so that my slate could be made clean. In your name I pray Lord Jesus, AMEN.
If you have asked God to forgive you for the mistakes in the past- but still struggle with moving on- then I encourage you choose today to walk in that forgiveness. Ask God to help you adopt his labels of truth. To allow your mind to be renewed and set free from that bondage of condemnation. You don’t have to walk there anymore, friend. Let today be a new day.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 NASB
In Christ,
Nikki