Who Am I?: Discovering the Person You Were Created to Be

by Jeff Little

We should inspire dreams and passions in the hearts of our children.

We should help them to see they don’t have to wait to be significant. But it’s absolutely critical for us to shape for them the definition of greatness.

Any child-development strategy, no matter

how positive and encouraging, that fails to address the issues of their heart and shape their identity will lead to a bad result.

Telling them to “follow their hearts” is one of the most dangerous strategies we can give them, no matter how well-intentioned we may be.

The song continues by explaining how useless it is to work hard day and night if you fail to realize God gives rest to His loved ones, not success, comfort, or a certain standard of living. And finally, the passage frames children as a gift from the Lord, a reward. Like every other gift God gives, He gives freely out of His love, with the only expectation on our end being that we love and steward it to the best of our ability.

We need God’s grace and power and the support and encouragement of divine relationships to help us.

God gives us a pattern, not as a guarantee there won’t be challenges and bumps along the way, or an iron-clad promise your kids will turn out exactly how you want them to. They have their own wills and they have to choose for themselves. God doesn’t expect you to do their part, but He does expect you to do yours.

The fulfillment they’re longing for in their soul is nurtured by you but can only be found in Him.

The only hope you have as a parent is for your children to learn to hear and obey God’s voice for themselves.

But I’m convinced there’s no greater responsibility God gives us than helping our children discover their identity in Christ and become the person God created them to

be. If you’re a parent, you feel the weight

this…I d...

We’re responsible to do our best to help them become who God created them to be, but they have to choose on their own to follow His call. We

we’re not careful, we can end up trying to shield them from the things God uses to help them grow.

Being faithful with the responsibility God has given you develops your character, no matter how old you are.

Until God puts His hand on our lives, we’ll chase the blessing in every other area of our lives and end up frustrated, angry, bitter, and unfulfilled.

They want to be held because it communicates security, affirmation, intentionality, and love.

God doesn’t shield us from crisis, because it’s the only way some people will get close to Him.

The sad reality is, some people won’t even do it then. The simplest way to touch God every day is to spend time with Him: read your Bible, pray, worship, serve in a ministry environment, talk with Him and expect Him to answer. Get close to Him. He promises that when we draw near to

Don’t give the past the power to shape your future. It’s one of the most common traps holding people back. They can’t let go of their failures.

If you’ll learn how to lean in and listen, you’ll hear them at any moment, calling you back to who He created you to be.

He’s right here with you, reminding you of who you are, calling you to trust His voice above all others. You are who He says you are.

What is one area of insecurity you can commit to prayer?

What are you going to do the next time you catch yourself comparing yourself to others?

Failure can either distort or clarify our identity—it’s all about how we respond.

What is one thing you would step out and do for God, if you were guaranteed not to fail?

True happiness is more than an elusive feeling.

Understanding how God designed the family to shape our identity is a critical part of this process.