Who Do You Believe About Who You Are? Part 1

The Apostle Paul uses the psalmist’s words to great effect in this quote from Psalm 116: “And in keeping with what is written: ‘I believed, therefore I have spoken,’ we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence.” (2 Cor. 4:13-14)

Here’s what I want to focus on: we speak out, or sometimes just say in our heads, what we believe. Jesus understood this dynamic: “The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

So, the question is, what are you treasuring in your heart? Because we’re all about destiny and glorifying God here, I specifically want to look at what’s stuck in your heart about who you are. Because I’m going to make a bold statement that I think the above scriptures (and others) back me up on: God does not control your destiny; your thoughts do! He has a destiny for you, but you have free will and a heart full of mixed treasure, and your thought-treasure can sideline you from living out God’s dream for you.

King Saul almost missed out. When Samuel came to anoint him as Israel’s fist king, here’s what he said about himself: “But I’m only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me?” But Samuel was persistent, and so was God. Shortly thereafter, God sent his spirit on Saul – and he became a different man.

This was a good start for Saul’s destiny, but we know that his story does not end well. He gives away in the verses above the key to understanding his downfall: he thought of himself as a small man. Clearly, God did not agree, but Saul’s belief about himself superseded even God’s direct word to him. That’s a pretty strong belief! This is how powerful the Inner Critic is.

I’ve written in more depth about the Inner Critic here, so I’ll just say that it’s the judgy voice in your head that provides a running commentary on the world. “That guy’s an idiot.” “You’re an idiot.” “You’re awesome!” “Well done.” It provides you with its view of how life—and you—should be, rewarding or chastising you as it sees fit. It not only makes you feel bad or superior, based on its arbitrary rules, but it also does not track with God’s word. It has a different set of standards, and they are inferior.

Let’s go back to Saul for proof. His Inner Critic told him, “Hey, you’re no big deal.” He believed it even after he became king, and it’s obvious because he got jealous when people started praising David for also being a mighty warrior (1 Samuel 18:7). He also caved in to the troops and did not follow God’s clear instructions. If he’d felt strong and worthy inside, he would have told them all to shut up and be obedient to God’s word. Instead, his own words reveal what he believed: “I was afraid of the troops and obeyed them.” Not God. That disobedience lost him the throne – and Samuel’s friendship, and God’s fullest destiny for him.

So, where you get your information about who you are is pretty dang important. Getting God’s opinions about you into your heart is the most powerful thing I can think of that you can do to advance your destiny. Understand your Enneagram type (I can help with that), get to know the voice of your Inner Critic and overcome it with the truth.  Next week, we’ll look at specific Inner Critic messages for each personality type, along with scripture to help begin overcoming them.

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