Recognize: Who Does Your Shepherd Say You Are?
The Father’s Table
By Daisy Hawkins
Have you ever stopped to consider how many things you’ve believed about yourself simply because someone else told you they were true?
Perhaps someone told you that you weren’t good enough.
That you would never amount to anything.
That you were a disappointment, a failure, or that you would always be defined by your mistakes.
Or maybe no one had to tell you those things.
Perhaps you’ve been telling yourself those lies for years.
Here’s a question I want you to ponder.
Who gave those voices the authority to tell you who you are?
Think about that for a moment.
We can spend our entire lives carrying labels that were never given to us by our Heavenly Father.
And over time, those labels can become so familiar that we begin believing they’re part of our identity.
But what if everything you’ve believed about yourself doesn’t line up with what your Creator says about you?
Wouldn’t you want to know?
Well, I have some wonderful news for you!
You don’t have to spend the rest of your life wondering who you are.
Your Creator has breathed a complete Book to let you know!
All you have to do is read it to learn the truth.
Who Has Been Defining You?
From the time we’re born, people begin telling us who we are.
Some speak words of encouragement, love, and affirmation.
Others speak words that wound us deeply.
And sometimes those painful words stay with us far longer than the encouraging ones.
We begin looking at ourselves through the lens of what others have said,
- what we’ve experienced, or
- what we’ve done.
Before long, we aren’t simply remembering our mistakes.
We’re allowing them to define us.
But there’s something very important I want you to understand.
Your experiences may have shaped your life, but they do not have the authority to determine your identity in Christ.
Your past is only part of your story.
It is not the final word over your life.
So where do we go to discover the truth?
Back to the One who created us!
You Belong to Your Creator
Let’s begin with something God said through the prophet Isaiah.
“But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, ‘Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.'” Isaiah 43:1 NLT
Oh, I love those words!
“I have called you by name; you are mine.”
Now, before we go any further, let’s understand who God was speaking to.
In this passage, God reminds His people that He created, formed, and redeemed them.
Here we can learn something beautiful about the character of our Heavenly Father!
He knows those who belong to Him.
He calls them by name.
And He doesn’t forget His own.
Now let’s look at what Scripture tells us about our identity through Jesus.
“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12 NLT
Did you catch that?
When we believe in Jesus and receive Him, we are given the right to become children of God!
- Not because we were good enough.
- Not because we earned that privilege.
- And certainly not because we managed to live a perfect life.
It’s through Jesus!
So here’s a question.
If your Heavenly Father calls you His child, why would you continue allowing the world to define you by something less?
Recognize Whose You Are Before Deciding Who You Are
I think sometimes we get so busy trying to figure out who we are that we overlook the most important question.
Whose am I?
Let’s go back to Psalm 23.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1 KJV
David recognized something that changed the way he viewed his life.
The LORD is HIS Shepherd.
David didn’t have to navigate life alone.
He belonged to the One who would lead him, provide for him, restore his soul, and walk with him through the darkest valleys.
And when we belong to Jesus, our identity begins with that relationship.
Listen to what Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 KJV
He knows His sheep!
Think about that.
The One who created the universe knows you personally.
- He knows your past.
- He knows your struggles.
- He knows the things you’ve done that you wish you could undo.
And none of those things are hidden from Him.
Yet through Jesus, He offers forgiveness, redemption, and a new life.
You don’t have to pretend your past never happened.
You need to recognize that your past doesn’t have to rule your future.
What Happens When We Believe the Wrong Voice?
Have you ever noticed how quickly a negative thought can take root?
Someone says something hurtful, and before long, we’re replaying those words over and over.
Then another thought joins it.
And another.
Eventually, we begin speaking those same words over ourselves.
“I’m not good enough.”
“I’ll never change.”
“God could never use someone like me.”
But where did those thoughts come from?
And more importantly, do they agree with God’s Word?
Jesus tells us something very important about the enemy in John 8:44.
He describes the devil as a liar and the father of lies.
The enemy would love nothing more than for us to believe lies that keep us from walking in the freedom Jesus has given us.
But here’s what I want you to recognize.
A thought doesn’t become truth simply because you’ve believed it for a long time.
That’s why we must learn to examine what we’re believing through the truth of Scripture.
Romans 12:2 teaches us not to conform to the patterns of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
How does that transformation begin?
By allowing God’s truth to replace the lies we’ve believed.
And that requires us to know His Word!
Take Those Labels to the Father’s Table
One of the things I love about spending intentional time with our Heavenly Father is that He doesn’t simply tell us what we want to hear.
He teaches us what we need to know.
- Sometimes He reveals a misunderstanding we’ve carried for years.
- Sometimes He corrects our thinking.
- Sometimes He brings us back to a Scripture we’ve read many times before and helps us recognize something we never noticed.
- And sometimes He shows us that we’ve been believing something about ourselves that doesn’t agree with what He says.
When that happens, we have a choice.
Will we continue holding on to the familiar lie?
Or will we trust the One who cannot lie?
Here’s something I’d encourage you to do during your Daily Table-Time.
Think about one label you’ve been carrying.
- Perhaps it’s something someone called you years ago.
- Perhaps it’s something you came to believe because of a painful experience or a mistake.
Now bring that label before your Heavenly Father.
Ask Holy Spirit to help you recognize whether that belief agrees with His Word.
Then open your Bible and begin discovering what He actually says about those who belong to Jesus.
For example, consider these truths:
- In 2 Corinthians 5:17, we learn that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.
- In Ephesians 2:10, we discover that we are God’s workmanship, created anew in Christ Jesus for the good works He prepared for us.
- In Romans 8:15–16, we learn that Holy Spirit confirms that we are God’s children.
- And in Colossians 3:12, believers are described as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.
These aren’t empty words of encouragement.
They are truths from God’s Word!
But don’t simply read them and move on.
- Pause.
- Ponder.
- Ask Holy Spirit to help you understand what they mean and how they apply to your life.
- And then begin allowing those truths to change the way you think, speak, and live.
Identity Is Rooted in Relationship
Now, here’s something I don’t want you to miss.
Discovering your identity in Christ isn’t about collecting a list of positive statements to make yourself feel better.
It’s about knowing the One who gives you that identity.
Remember what we’ve been learning at the Father’s Table?
- Come Home.
- Return.
- And now, Recognize.
As we return to His Word and spend time with Him, we begin recognizing His character, His voice, His ways, and His truth.
And as our relationship with Him grows, we begin to understand who we are because of WHOSE we are.
That’s the foundation!
We aren’t trying to create a better version of ourselves through positive thinking.
We’re allowing Holy Spirit to transform us as we learn to follow Jesus.
And that transformation doesn’t happen simply because we read a verse once and agree that it sounds wonderful.
We must learn to believe His truth, trust Him, and follow His teachings.
That’s why Daily Table-Time matters.
Not because we need another religious assignment.
But the more intimately we know our Heavenly Father, the more clearly we begin to recognize the difference between His truth and the lies we’ve believed.
You Don’t Have to Keep Wearing That Label
- Maybe you’ve carried a label for so long that you can’t imagine yourself without it.
- Maybe the people around you still see you through the lens of your past.
- And perhaps some of the consequences of your choices are still part of your life today.
But listen carefully.
Your circumstances don’t have to determine your relationship with your Heavenly Father.
Through Jesus, you can be forgiven, redeemed, and transformed.
And as you continue walking with Him, He will teach you how to live as the person He has called you to become.
- You may still have things to learn.
- You may still have habits to surrender.
- You may still have wounds that need healing.
That’s part of the journey.
But don’t allow those unfinished places to convince you that God isn’t working in your life.
Remember, we’re not finished products!
We’re clay in the hands of the Potter. (Isaiah 64:8)
And our Heavenly Father is still teaching, shaping, correcting, and transforming those who willingly follow Him.
So the next time an old label tries to tell you who you are, don’t automatically accept it.
You can respond confidently by saying, “That’s not what God says about me.”
That should stop that conversation.
Then you can take that situation to the Father’s Table.
Open His Word.
Ask Holy Spirit to encourage you with His truths of who He says you are.
Learn to recognize the voice of the One who knows you best. Your Heavenly Father.
💎Today’s Treasure💎
My identity in Christ is not determined by my past, mistakes, or the opinions of others. It begins with belonging to Jesus and learning to recognize what my Heavenly Father says about me in His Word.
Before you can fully recognize who you are, you must recognize WHOSE you are.
And that relationship is the Treasure.
At the Father’s Table
Before you close your Bible today, take some time to ponder these questions.
- What labels or beliefs about myself have I accepted that do not agree with what God says in His Word?
- When I think about who I am, do I see myself primarily through my past and circumstances, or through my relationship with Jesus?
- What truth from Scripture is Holy Spirit inviting me to believe and begin living out today?
Don’t rush to answer.
Sit with your Heavenly Father. Ask Holy Spirit to reveal any lies you’ve been carrying and help you recognize His truth.
Then begin learning to walk in that truth, one step at a time.
And tomorrow?
Return to His Word again.
Because the more you know your Shepherd, the more clearly you’ll recognize His voice, His ways, and who He says you are.
Return is the rhythm. The relationship is the Treasure.
The Father’s Table is waiting.
May God bless you and keep you.
Daisy