By Erin Elizabeth Austin
Who are you? I had the privilege of attending the Women of Joy conference this past weekend, and this question was asked several times. I’m thrilled to say I knew the answer to the question, something I couldn’t have done a few years ago. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “How can you not know who you are?!” Believe it or not, most people get the answer to this question wrong, and for years, I was one of them.
Most people, when asked this question, respond with answers like, “I’m a wife and mother of two children; I’m a nurse who loves to have adventures, etc.” Yet none of these answers tell who you are! They describe what you do. Intrinsically, at our very core, very few know their identity.
I was reminded of this after the massive response from last week’s devotion on expectations (see http://www.erinelizabethaustin.com/blog/great-expectations). Although the devotion was about our unrealistic expectations of God, it triggered many of you into thinking about the unrealistic expectations you place on yourself and how you struggle because you don’t measure up. That’s why this week’s name of God is my all-time favorite. I think it’s one of the sweetest, yet most revealing names we see throughout all of Scripture. The name is Abba, which means Father in Aramaic.
When we see our need for a Savior and repent of our sins, Scripture tells us we are adopted as God’s children. He becomes our Abba, our Daddy God. Romans 8:15-17 says it best, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
Who are you? I had the privilege of attending the Women of Joy conference this past weekend, and this question was asked several times. I’m thrilled to say I knew the answer to the question, something I couldn’t have done a few years ago. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “How can you not know who you are?!” Believe it or not, most people get the answer to this question wrong, and for years, I was one of them.
Most people, when asked this question, respond with answers like, “I’m a wife and mother of two children; I’m a nurse who loves to have adventures, etc.” Yet none of these answers tell who you are! They describe what you do. Intrinsically, at our very core, very few know their identity.
I was reminded of this after the massive response from last week’s devotion on expectations (see http://www.erinelizabethaustin.com/blog/great-expectations). Although the devotion was about our unrealistic expectations of God, it triggered many of you into thinking about the unrealistic expectations you place on yourself and how you struggle because you don’t measure up. That’s why this week’s name of God is my all-time favorite. I think it’s one of the sweetest, yet most revealing names we see throughout all of Scripture. The name is Abba, which means Father in Aramaic.
When we see our need for a Savior and repent of our sins, Scripture tells us we are adopted as God’s children. He becomes our Abba, our Daddy God. Romans 8:15-17 says it best, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
Let that truth sink down deep into your soul. God doesn’t care what you can and cannot do. He doesn’t care about the size of your portfolio and your bank account. Your net worth in God’s kingdom isn’t dependent on your job. A CEO of a corporation isn’t considered more valuable than a homeless person. If you have a personal relationship with Christ, then God says you are His child. You are valued. You are cherished. You are wanted!
For years, I could not comprehend this. Life had beaten me down to the point I was beyond broken. I was shattered in a million tiny pieces. In my mind, I knew God had to love me because He was God, but that didn’t mean He was happy about it. Twisted though it was, I honestly believed I was the black sheep of God’s family. Just because God loved me didn’t mean He liked me, so I worked hard to be the best possible person I could be. And then sickness happened. I couldn’t work because my body wouldn’t allow it. I will never forget having to quit my job because I was too sick to work, thinking “What am I going to do now? I was doing all of these things to show God I deserved His love, and now I can’t. How am I going to show Him I’m valuable?”
That time in my life was one of the darkest times I’ve ever experienced, and I am so grateful for it! As odd as this may sound, sitting on the couch doing absolutely nothing helped me FINALLY begin to understand who I am and Whose I am. Now I know, I am Erin Elizabeth Austin and I am a daughter of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If I ever become a best-selling author and world-renown speaker, my value will not change from the beaten, broken down girl eight years ago.
God’s love never changes. Even better, it’s unfailing. It’s unshakeable. It’s unstoppable. He is a good Father who loves you when you think you’re unlovable. Do you believe that? Do you know who you are? Do you know Whose you are? Do you know that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords says you are somebody?
If you don’t, know you’re not alone. Ask God to show you the truth of who you are in Him. Pray that He will help you see the beauty of your life through His filter of truth rather than society’s unrealistic expectations. Ask Him to help you block out the lies you have believed for so long. You, my precious friend, have a Daddy God who loves you in ways you can’t begin to fathom. Choose to believe what your Abba says about you. I promise, your life will never be the same.
“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” ~ Ephesians 3:17-19
That time in my life was one of the darkest times I’ve ever experienced, and I am so grateful for it! As odd as this may sound, sitting on the couch doing absolutely nothing helped me FINALLY begin to understand who I am and Whose I am. Now I know, I am Erin Elizabeth Austin and I am a daughter of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If I ever become a best-selling author and world-renown speaker, my value will not change from the beaten, broken down girl eight years ago.
God’s love never changes. Even better, it’s unfailing. It’s unshakeable. It’s unstoppable. He is a good Father who loves you when you think you’re unlovable. Do you believe that? Do you know who you are? Do you know Whose you are? Do you know that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords says you are somebody?
If you don’t, know you’re not alone. Ask God to show you the truth of who you are in Him. Pray that He will help you see the beauty of your life through His filter of truth rather than society’s unrealistic expectations. Ask Him to help you block out the lies you have believed for so long. You, my precious friend, have a Daddy God who loves you in ways you can’t begin to fathom. Choose to believe what your Abba says about you. I promise, your life will never be the same.
“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” ~ Ephesians 3:17-19
© May 10, 2017
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