[Today’s devotion about identity in Christ is a part of the Weekend Word devotional series. Come back every Saturday for fresh insights from God’s Word, or follow my blog via email or WordPress to have my content sent straight to your inbox.]

Today’s Scripture: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV).

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:14)

Forcing myself to look at my phone, I already knew what it would say.

I groaned as I saw the time. Laying back in bed, I seethed over my consistent ability to turn off my alarm and sleep longer than I should.

I would be late. Again.

A hundred and one angry thoughts about myself filled my head as I groggily pulled myself out of bed and began getting ready for my day.

With all the negative self-talk, you can imagine how the rest of my day went.

Looking back on that morning and the countless others like it, I began to wonder: Is that how God would want me to speak to myself? He turned my attention back to two verses: Ephesians 2:10 and Psalm 139:14.

One night a little over a year ago, I was looking for verses that remind us about what God says about us. The above two verses came to mind. Though I had heard them many times before, this was the first time that I had put them side-by-side. And I was blown away.

Ephesians 2:10 calls us “God’s handiwork.” Other translations say “workmanship,” “creation,” or “masterpiece.” We are made by God; we are His work.

With that in mind, look again at Psalm 139:14. This is a verse often shared in Sunday School classes, VBS, and children’s church. It’s a beautiful one, and when I looked at it through the eyes of Ephesians 2:10, I was stunned.

The second half of the verse says “your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

If we are God’s work, and His works are wonderful, what does that make us? It makes us wonderful.

When we sell ourselves short with our negative self-talk, we are, in a way, disagreeing with God. We are saying things about ourselves that are the opposite of what He says about us.

Many times I fail to catch myself when the self put-downs start. Maybe you do too. My prayer is that when we’re filled with unsavory words pointed at ourselves, we can remind ourselves about what God says about us. As we practice those constant reminders, we’ll be able to say “God calls me wonderful, and ‘I know that full well.'”

Today’s Thoughts: What other things does God say about you? How are those words the same or different from what you say about yourself? How might His words about you change your thought patterns for the better?