In my opinion, labels really should only be used for food and for pricing things at the store. Regardless of how I would like the world to work, I don’t ultimately get to make those decisions. Much to my chagrin, labels are more often than not used on people. Sometimes that can really hurt. Sometimes we can take those false labels as facts and make a full identity out of them. And even worse, sometimes those labels become who we are because it is all we have ever been told.

Think about some hurtful labels you might have heard over your life. Maybe it was “ugly”, or “fat”, or “stupid.” Maybe the label placed on you was “not good enough,” or “worthless.” Maybe you were identified as shameful or at fault for circumstances that happened in your past. I have not arrived and I still have a lot of growing to do but if I could give you one bit of advice it would be to lay the labels down.

Friend, you are not your mistakes. You are not your past. You are not what has been done to you. I know you may see yourself as less than or insignificant but you are priceless and God thinks the world of you. I know you may have been told otherwise. Maybe you started to believe the lies you have been told about yourself. No matter what others think of you, remember God is the one who your identity is found in. He thinks you’re wonderful. He gave His life for you. He says you are chosen and set apart. He says you are His and you are worth it.

You might not feel good enough. You might feel out of place or shut out. You might not even know who you are, but God does and that is enough. No matter what labels have been placed on you by others or even from yourself- remember who you are in Christ and let that be who you say you are.

“I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who You say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am who You say I am.”

Rachel Skirvin is a lover of travel, nachos, and the gospel. She is a graduate of Urshan College and will most likely always call it Gateway. She is pursuing her master’s degree in counseling and human services and is currently serving at The Pentecostals of Cooper City in South Florida.