Who God Says I Am

Most of us carry a voice that tells us who we are, and it is rarely kind. God speaks a better word, and He does not just hand it over as advice. In Jesus He makes it true, so here are some of the lies we hear most, and what God says instead.

Tap a card, or press Enter or Space on Turn the card, to see how to live it, more Scripture, and songs.

Card 1 of 13

The lie

"I'm unlovable."

The truth

God did not wait for you to become lovable. He loved you first, at your worst, and in Christ He calls you His child.

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 (ESV)

Card 1: "I'm unlovable."

Living it

His love rests on what Jesus did, not on how you feel about yourself today. When you feel least lovable, look at the cross, since that is where He settled the question.

More from God's Word

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

1 John 3:1 (ESV)

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 John 4:10 (ESV)

Songs

Card 2 of 13

The lie

"I'm alone."

The truth

If you belong to Jesus, he has promised to stay. Not one day of your life is spent outside His company.

for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5 (ESV)

Card 2: "I'm alone."

Living it

Loneliness is real, and God does not shame you for it. Tell Him plainly that you feel alone, then let His people in, because He often keeps this promise through them.

More from God's Word

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)

Songs

Card 3 of 13

The lie

"I'm a failure."

The truth

You will still fail, but failure is no longer your verdict. Jesus took the condemnation, so none is left for you.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1 (ESV)

Card 3: "I'm a failure."

Living it

When you fall, you do not have to hide or earn your way back. Confess it, receive His mercy again, and get up.

More from God's Word

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 (ESV)

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

Songs

Card 4 of 13

The lie

"I'm too far gone."

The truth

Jesus came for sinners, and Paul called himself the worst of them. Nobody has gone further than his mercy can reach.

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

1 Timothy 1:15 (ESV)

Card 4: "I'm too far gone."

Living it

The distance you feel is the very road the Father runs down. Turn toward Him today, just as you are.

More from God's Word

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Ephesians 2:4-5 (ESV)

Songs

Card 5 of 13

The lie

"I'm worthless."

The truth

God has said what you are worth to him by what He paid. He bought you back with the blood of His own Son.

knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

1 Peter 1:18-19 (ESV)

Card 5: "I'm worthless."

Living it

Your worth was never yours to build, and it is not the world's to take away. It was settled at a price no one can lower.

More from God's Word

Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:31 (ESV)

for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 6:20 (ESV)

Songs

Card 6 of 13

The lie

"I'm defined by my past."

The truth

In Christ you are a new creation. Your past is still your story, but it is no longer your name.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

Card 6: "I'm defined by my past."

Living it

When old memories come back to accuse you, you can tell them what God has already said. The new has come, and He is the one who made it new.

More from God's Word

as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:12 (ESV)

Songs

Card 7 of 13

The lie

"I have to earn it."

The truth

Salvation is a gift, start to finish. You cannot earn it, and you cannot outwork it.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)

Card 7: "I have to earn it."

Living it

You can step off the treadmill. The good works God has for you come after grace and flow out of it, never as a payment for it.

More from God's Word

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

Romans 11:6 (ESV)

Songs

Card 8 of 13

The lie

"I'm rejected."

The truth

People may turn you away, but God has brought you in. He adopted you as His own, and He will not send you out.

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

John 6:37 (ESV)

Card 8: "I'm rejected."

Living it

Rejection hurts, and you can bring that hurt to your Father. You do not have to perform to stay in His family, since you are already home.

More from God's Word

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Romans 8:15 (ESV)

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:10 (ESV)

Songs

Card 9 of 13

The lie

"I'm powerless."

The truth

You are weak, and that is not the end of the story. Christ's power does its best work in people who know they cannot.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

Card 9: "I'm powerless."

Living it

You do not need to fake strength before God. Bring Him your weakness and lean on Him, one step at a time.

More from God's Word

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Isaiah 40:29 (ESV)

Songs

Card 10 of 13

The lie

"I'm not enough."

The truth

You were never meant to be enough on your own. Jesus is, and in Him you are not missing anything you need before God.

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

Colossians 2:9-10 (ESV)

Card 10: "I'm not enough."

Living it

The pressure to be more was never yours to carry. Let Christ be enough for you, and serve from His fullness, not your lack.

More from God's Word

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:26 (ESV)

Songs

Card 11 of 13

The lie

"If anyone really knew me, they'd leave."

The truth

God already knows all of you, every thought and every hidden part. In Christ He knows you completely and has not turned away.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

Psalm 139:1 (ESV)

Card 11: "If anyone really knew me, they'd leave."

Living it

You can stop managing what God sees. Tell Him the hard part honestly, because nothing you say will surprise Him.

More from God's Word

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

Psalm 139:2-4 (ESV)

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)

Songs

Card 12 of 13

The lie

"I'll never hold on."

The truth

Your grip is not what keeps you. Jesus holds His own, and your life is safe with Him.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

John 10:28 (ESV)

Card 12: "I'll never hold on."

Living it

On the days your faith feels thin, rest in His hold, not yours. Keep coming to Him, and trust Him to keep you.

More from God's Word

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:3 (ESV)

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

John 10:29 (ESV)

Songs

Card 13 of 13

The lie

"I'll never change."

The truth

You are not stuck with the old you. Christ has broken sin's rule over you, and the God who began His work in you will finish it.

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 6:14 (ESV)

Card 13: "I'll never change."

Living it

Change is slower than we want, and it is His work, not your willpower. Keep coming back to Him, and trust Him with the pace.

More from God's Word

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Romans 6:6 (ESV)

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

Songs

A closing word

These truths are not a pep talk, and you do not make them true by repeating them. They are what God gives to everyone who belongs to Jesus, because Jesus lived, died, and rose for sinners. When the old voice gets loud again, come back here and let God have the last word.

If you're not sure these are yours yet: they can be. Turn from trying to save yourself and trust Jesus, who died for sinners and rose again, and every promise on this page is yours in Him. Read more on the Good News page.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.