Have you ever wondered who God says you are or asked, what does God say about me? Growing up, how did you feel about the name your parents chose for you at birth? Or perhaps the nicknames given to you on the elementary school playground? Maybe those weren’t an issue, but over time you began identifying with your painful struggles and adopted those names: the mother with a prodigal child, the man who struggles with pornography, the woman who had an abortion, the Bible study teacher who got a divorce, the student who failed out of school, the teen who got arrested, etc. Despite those truths, that is not who or whose you are.
The enemy of our soul always reminds us of all that we are not: not good enough, not smart enough, not holy enough, not perfect enough, not righteous enough, and the list goes on. When we succumb to his shame and blame, it becomes easy for us to focus on those things as well and adopt them as our identity.
While we tend to look at ourselves through the lens of our failures and our painful, broken, mixed-up pasts, remember He sees all that He knows we are.
And, God says YOU are His much-loved creation.
What does God say about me? Understanding Our True Identity
There are several examples in the Bible of others who lived seeing themselves one way, only for God to bestow upon them a new name. A specific example has given me great encouragement when I thought my past was too bad for God to redeem:
Luke 8:43-48 and Mark 5:25-34 recounts the story of the woman known only as “the woman with the issue of blood.” Scripture tells us that this woman suffered with a physically painful affliction of bleeding for twelve years, which meant that she likely also experienced emotional, relational, financial, and spiritual pain, grief and loss, having to live ostracized away from her community because her bleeding left her considered unclean by cultural norms at the time. I can only imagine the names she called herself and how that colored her identity: unclean, unworthy, unholy, imperfect, blemished, ostracized, or worse.
Yet, somehow, despite her pain and suffering, she mustered the strength to go into town to seek out Jesus, knowing in her heart that if she could just touch the hem of his garment, she would be healed. She risked her name and her reputation by even going into town amongst those who ridiculed and ostracized her.
When she reached out to Jesus’s hem, she was inconspicuous. She didn’t crawl up his cloak or put her hands on each side of his face and demand her healing. She could get no lower than she was, reaching for the part of his garment furthest from touching his body. We read in Scripture that when she touched the hem of his garment, she was immediately healed. And Jesus knew that because he asked, “Who touched me?” Several times in scripture, God or Jesus asked a question, not because they didn’t know the answer to the question, but because they needed others to consider the answer. We read in the biblical account that she realized she had no choice but had to come forward and admit she had not only touched him, but that when she did, she was immediately healed.
Did the Woman with the Issue of Blood Wonder, What Does God Say About Me?
My favorite part of this story was a short 9-word proclamation from Jesus to this brave woman: “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” Jesus not only healed this woman physically, which is what she was seeking, but in those nine words, Jesus healed her emotionally, relationally, spiritually, allowing her to return to her community, but most importantly, Jesus changed her identity when he called her “Daughter.” This woman, who had been known not only to her community but also to us thousands of years later by her painful past, is the only person recorded in Scripture to be called “Daughter” by Jesus. That’s a term of belonging, of worth, of acceptance, of dignity, of love…all the things that she lacked being known only as “the woman with the issue of blood.”
He called her “Daughter,” affirming her true identity.
God Says You are Loved, Worthy, and Accepted
I’m grateful for the accounts in the Bible of God changing people’s names and by extension, their identity: Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob (the supplanter) to Israel, Simon to Peter, Saul to Paul. But lest we think he only did that in biblical times, it’s helpful for us to recognize he does that for us today.
God says YOU are loved, worthy, and accepted even today.
God Says You are a New Creation
But Christ calls us “new creations.” ”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).
God says He gives us a new name.
“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it” (Revelations 2:17).
Just like on the famous episode of the Oprah show where she exclaimed everyone gets a new car, in our case, “you get a new name, and You get a new name, and YOU get a new name!” Everyone who accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior gets a new name!
Honestly, I don’t care for many of the names and nicknames I’ve received over the years. So I want to agree, receive and accept what God says about me, because He knows me best and loves me most. “A different name” if you will.
17 Bible Verses: What God Says About You
- I say (or have said) I am unlovable, but God says I am forever loved.
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
2. I say (or have said) I am scarred but God says I am healed.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
3. I say I am weak, but God says He makes me strong.
“God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect” (Psalm 18:32).
4. I recognize I am a sinner, but God says I am forgiven.
“I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus” (1 John 2:12).
5. I was abandoned, but God says I am adopted.
“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:5).
6. I say I am broken, but God says He makes me whole.
“So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority” (Colossians 2:10).
7. I have been rejected, but God says I am His!
“Do not fear. I have redeemed you. I have summoned you. You are mine” (Isaiah 43:1).
8. I say I am alone, but God says He is always with me.
“…Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
9. I say I am hopeless, but God says because of Him, I am hopeful.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare, and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
10. I say I am a lost cause, but God says I was created with purpose.
“Perhaps this is the moment for which you’ve been created” (Esther 4:14).
11. I say I have failed, but God says I am victorious in Christ.
“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
12. I say I am lost, but God says He gives me direction.
“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21).
13. I say I am worried, anxious, or afraid, but God says with Him I am peace-filled.
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
14. I say I am unhappy, but God says I am joyful/joy-filled.
“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 15:11)
15. I say I am afraid, but God says I am powerful, loved, and have a sound mind.
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
16. I say I am nothing special, but God says I am 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).
17. I say I am worthless, but God says Jesus died because I am worth it.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Satan will always try to tempt us to hide our pain and brokenness in defeat and shame, but God loves to celebrate the progress we’ve made and the healing He is doing in His effort to bring beauty from the ashes of our pain-filled lives. Our identity in Christ is never based on what we’ve done or haven’t done, said or haven’t said, but on whose we are! We are His, and He gets the final say. But it’s up to us to not only believe it, but to declare it when the enemy taunts us with all the ways he says we don’t measure up. As a child of God, He gets to declare your name, and you get to live in it! Remember, He makes all things new and that includes YOU! Will you accept your new name today?
Because of Him, we have a new name and #HopePrevails!
A Prayer to Remind You What God Says About You
May I pray for you?
Father, I thank you that your Word is the truth which we can believe. I thank you that although the world may tell us all the ways we don’t measure up and all the things we are not, You declare all the good things we are. We are nothing in ourselves but help us to remember all that we are because of you and who we are with you in us. When discouragement comes, send your Holy Spirit to remind us that we are forever loved, healed, strong, forgiven, adopted, whole, purposeful, hopeful, joyful, peace-filled, victorious, powerful, fearfully and wonderfully made, worthy, and we are yours! And Father, help us to see all those truths in those around us as well. When we are tempted to think of all the negative ways that others don’t measure up to our standard, help us to remember all the beautiful ways you created them. I thank you that you, Father, have made us each a new creation, and you have given us a new name. In Jesus’s name I pray, Amen.
Please consider picking up a copy of Sacred Scars: Resting in God’s Promise That Your Past Is Not Wasted for you and for a friend who is struggling to find purpose in their pain. And if you’ve read Sacred Scars, would you please consider leaving an Amazon review? It helps other readers find valuable resources that can encourage them on their healing journey.
Because of Him, #HopePrevails!
What does #God say about you? Read more for 17 Bible Verses on who God says you are. #Bible #identity Share on X 17 #Bible Verses: What #God says about you. And, an encouraging #prayer to remind you what God says about you. Read more about your identity in Christ here. Share on X
Sacred Scars: Resting in God’s Promise that Your Pain is Not Wasted
Now Available!
We all endure trials, pain, and hardship in this life. Too often we believe these experiences disqualify us from being useful to God. But the truth is, your past pain and brokenness serve as preparation for what God wants to do in and through you – if you will surrender to and trust him.
Just as Jesus’s scars didn’t disappear after his resurrection, our emotional or physical scars tell our story and lend credence to our testimony of God’s love and power. If you are ready to turn your past pain into present comfort and future hope, let Dr. Bengtson be your compassionate guide.
Find out more and order here: Sacred Scars
Related Reading on Your Identity: Who God Says You Are and What God Says About You
How God Sees You: Already Amazing
Whose Opinion Counts: 20 Bible Verses that Define Your Worth
Finding Your Identity in Christ: 20 Truths from God’s Word
Lies We Believe vs. Truths From The Bible About Our Identity – Episode 100
Our Identity in Christ is Certain
Hope for Living in our True Identity in Christ – Episode 38
Your message brought back memories of years gone by when my names were fearful, rejected and probably others I couldn’t identify but lived out anyway. After living with fear for over 40 years, the Lord delivered me laying prostrate on the floor and from that moment until today I have a new name and it is Peace-Filled. Thank you so much for this very needed and precious message! So many women especially who come to us for ministry are dealing and walking in the names the enemy has told them and they need so desperately to know what Our Father says about them. That is one of the first things we help them learn. I am going to print this list of scriptures so I can give them away. Father has taught you a very valuable truth and I am going to share it with all who will listen!! I love and appreciate you Dr. Michelle!
Karen, Peace-filled is what God wants for all of us! There is nothing better than trusting God to handle whatever situation arises, rather than getting trapped in the dungeon of worry, fear, and anxiety.
These Scriptures are so comforting, Michelle. Thank you so much of reminding me of these truths. I have printed them out, so I can remind myself of them more often. I’m also hoping to share this post in my Hope Harbor links at the end of the month. Love and blessings to you!
I’m so glad this post blessed you Trudy. These Scriptures are truths that I think we all need reminding of from time to time! I’m so glad God in His wisdom wrote them down for us.
yea same
This definitely blessed me. I’ve been struggling with insecurities and I needed to hear these words today. Have had a hard time believing what God says about me. Thank you for this! Gives me something to meditate on.
Rory, I’m so glad this blessed you. I think many of us have a hard time believing what God says about this. But meditating on His truths helps take it from head knowledge to a heart belief. Praying you sense God whispering those truths to your heart. Dr. Bengtson
I literally cried tears of joy while reading this post. I felt like I was dealing with a major attack from the enemy and I felt like I was alone And forgotten about, so I typed in, “what does God say about me? ” And I started reading all the truth to all of the lies I was being told and I could literally hear the enemy huffing and puffing.. thanks so much for reminding us what God says about us, His child, His children.
Such great Truths to be reminded of. It’s so easy to forget! I really appreciate the part of your prayer about recognizing these Truths in others, too. That’s such an important perspective! Help us, Lord, to love others with Your kind of unconditional love, and to see them through Your eyes!
Unconditional love…what a gift that is Jana! To give, as well as to receive. No one modeled it better than Jesus!
Is the book Sacred Scars available in spanish?
Not yet. Publishers need to see a demand before that happens.
Great encouragement for this Tuesday morning! Thanks so much!
Indeed every thought has its answer in Christ Jesus.
Yes, Karen, it’s so important that we take the time to analyze our thoughts and see where they line up (or don’t) with truth. God has such wonderful things to say to us and about us.
What a powerful message, Michelle. We are always enough in God’s eyes. I especially love #5. I seek that verse out on many occasions.
Laurie, I’m so grateful to know that God accepts me as I am, and declares over me all the things I am because of Him, rather than all the things the enemy would like to tell me I’m not.
May God bless you! Thank you for the reminder, resource, and prayer. I woke this morning asking “what does God say about me” in my time of devotion. Thank you.
Being broken but made whole is one of my favorites.
I would have to agree with you on that! Always good to have you stop by here. Have a hope-filled week.
This is exactly what I was looking for!
I am reading this the day after my birthday, and what a beautiful blessing it is! Thankyou Michelle, God bless you this Lord’s Day.
Thank you !!
Reading this as I get ready to use it in Sunday school class for my young teens that brought me to emotionally tearfulness to read the words out loud of what God thinks of me. It is amazing that the words we read over and over can touch Us in different ways a different times I can’t wait to share this with my Sunday school class. Thank you
Thank you so much for reminding me. God bless you
This page, prayers and scriptures were a blessing to me.
THANK YOU for sharing 🙏🏾
This list was right on time and made me feel like it’s not too late for me to be all God had called me to be. Thank you for this powerful encouragement and prayer.
Dr. Michelle,
I recently came upon your blog and I am so so very blessed to be encouraged as to be able to pass these encouragements on. I am a retired Advanced Practice Nurse and I’ve developed and coordinate a Care Ministry at my church. Because I’ve been so touched by your posts, I share the RX attachments with my ministry Team and the Caregiver Support Group. I share with my adult daughters and anyone who God leads me to. You helped me see that those negative thoughts truly come from the enemy of my soul. He uses those accusations to keep me feeling and hearing, “not enough”. I must remember and listen to what God says about me. He says, “I am who Jesus says I am because of what He took on the cross for me; He made me a new creation and has given me a new name.” Not because ‘I’m all that and a bag of chips, but because He loved me enough to give me new life in him! I can’t wait to hear him call me my new name.
Bobbi F.
I came here because i was trying to understand my identity in Christ and what i read here has reminded me of that and even more. I’m going through a lot but i’m hopeful and i know I have the victory over this situation in Jesus mighty Name!
Thank you for what you’ve shared here.
Lerato,
I’m so glad you found this resource helpful. It’s a journey to truly learn our identity in Christ and continue to live it out. God has given us the victory, now let’s live in it!
Dr. Michelle
Greetings in Jesus name I also googled just now what God says about me, and I am truly amazed by His words I do struggle to except words of love at times because of past experiences, I’ve never had love like the love God offers. I am so grateful for these encouragements because I know the greatest battle is always in the mind. I just want to live a full life in Christ and to walk in His love and purpose for my life. I don’t want to shy away from Gods anymore.
Well Candice, your desires are fully within His good and perfect will for you. Keep pressing in. Scripture says that when you seek Him with your whole heart, you will find Him!
Hope Prevails,
Dr. Michelle
AMEN!
Good Morning,
I sit here looking out on the riverwalk in San Antonio simply wanting to read God’s Word before engaging with the world. I put in “what God says about me” and your article came up.
While I sit here in peace and nothing is wrong, I could barely see the because of my tears. Your article reminded me of how wonderful God sees me! As an ordained minister, we often forget to “take in” what we tell others. I’m a true advocate for women (and all others) and believe they must be nurtured early so that they will never end up in doubting their worth. Your article just reminded me of my worth. Thank you so much and yes, I will get the book because I also believe our scars are sacred!
I look forward to reading other powerful articles/books written by you! May God pour back into you all you pour out to your readers!
Bertha,
Thank you so much for encouraging my heart today with your kind comments. I love it when God uses anything I’ve done, said, or written to meet someone just where they are. I love that He did that for you. He is a good God! I hope the other posts and books encourage your heart as well.
Hope Prevails,
Dr. Michelle
I been a christian since I was I want to say 5 and I’m struggling by the devils will to take me down I’m praying and have friends and my friends church praying for me I just want to say I’m rising beside him he’s given me dreams of me making music and helping and saving lives but I worry if the devil will bring me down and just wonder… if I stay with God (or should I say my dad cause my bio dad left me and my step dads gone right now and God’s been there and is my creator….our creator) sorry
Maddix,
The enemy always goes after our calling, but with God’s help we rise above and have the victory. The enemy doesn’t bother people who aren’t a threat.
Hope Prevails,
Dr. Michelle