As we started this new year, I reflected on what God might have in store for 2024, when he reminded me of something Jesus said in John 10:10 – “I have come that they might have life. And have it abundantly.”

I don’t know whether you think about your hopes, dreams and prayers for the year ahead – the challenges you know you will face, the breakthroughs you’d like to see happen? When you lay them before God, what are your expectations?

Expectations is a word my church pastor used in our thanksgiving service at the very end of 2023, and one that God had used with me throughout that year. Do you expect breakthrough, provision and blessing in 2024? Or are you simply hoping it won’t be as bad as 2023 and that you will get through it?

Jesus promised life, not make-it-through-by-the-skin-of-your-teeth life, but abundant life.

If Jesus promised abundant life, then we should expect abundant life. So why do we so often compromise or lower our expectations?

I feel that at the start of this year, God wants to deal with one of the reasons we lower our expectations – I am sure there are plenty of other reasons (disappointment being perhaps the most obvious). But the one I feel God wants to touch on today, is that we undervalue ourselves – we don’t think we are worthy of all that blessing and abundant life, even if we know the truth in our heads, we don’t believe in ourselves in our hearts… we aren’t walking fully in the identity God has given us.

If you play video games, you will most likely have come across the concept of ‘skins’.  For those who don’t, a ‘skin’ is an item a player can acquire in a game. It modifies the visual appearance of a character – such as a different costume or colour scheme.

God showed me two ‘skins’ – one was created by the world, the other by him. He offers us a choice – do we choose to be who the world tells us we are, or who he tells us we are?

In our last church service, a friend brought a picture of a cloakroom with people hanging up their coats and putting on new ones, with a message that some of us need to take off old things and put on new ones.

And just before Christmas I was in London with friends when I came across this shirt. I dubbed it ‘the shirt for the indecisive person.’

The reality is, this shirt is how we often dress – how we put on our ‘skins’ – a little bit of God’s shirt here and there, with patches of the world shirt. None of us have mastered the donning of the ‘God skin’ – least of all me! We find it difficult to completely take off the world’s coat and hang it up, fully clothing ourselves in who God says we are. We compare ourselves to others, find fault with ourselves, don’t think we are good enough, think we need to be more successful, better at what we do, more ‘spiritual, we wish we were prettier, had more money, and so on… Only Jesus knew exactly who he was in God, and walked his life on earth fully clothed in the ‘God skin’.

But if we are to have life, and have it abundantly, and to expect abundant life, we need to know who we are – sons and daughters of the creator of the universe, specially chosen, loved, blessed and forgiven. Perhaps as we realise the truth about who we are, our expectations will rise and we can embrace the abundant life God has promised us.

I’d like you to try something. I’m going to list some of the things that God says you and I are. I could write something about each of them but for now I will just list them.

These are truth.

Listen to these truths instead of the voices that say you aren’t good enough, clever enough, tall enough, successful enough, pretty enough, rich enough…

Listen to who God says you are.

After reading or listening to each one, repeat in your mind (or out loud if you prefer) “I am ….”

Invite the Holy Spirit to connect with your heart. As you repeat “I am…”, you may find it difficult to say some of the things on this list, or you may find the Holy Spirit pinpoints some you have trouble accepting. You may find you have unbelief – you know that the statement is in the Bible, but for some reason it’s just been too difficult to believe it to be true of yourself.

I believe God wants to bring freedom. So if that’s you, ask God to show you just who he has made you – just how true this truth is of you. Repent of any unbelief. If you need to cry, cry. If you need someone to pray with, find someone to pray with. If you need prayer ministry to deal with something that has taken root in your life and you can’t shake, talk to your church leaders or ministry team, but whatever you do, don’t keep believing the lies – don’t keep putting on the wrong ‘skin’ when there is a much better one freely available to you. And if you are reading this and don’t know God, then ask him to show you who he is and who he made you to be, and dare to invite him into your life!

This list is nowhere near exhaustive – just my first forty (which seems like a Biblically suitable number to aim for!). At the end there’s a list of the Bible references I have used to support each statement so you can print out and stick them around your house! I pray God will bless you as you prayerfully read through this list.

• You are fearfully and wonderfully made by God (“I am fearfully…”)
• You are made for purpose
• You are made in God’s image
• You are chosen
• You are unique
• You are a child of God
• You are part of God’s family
• You are a citizen of heaven
• You are a friend of Christ
• You are complete in Christ
• You are loved
• You are saved (from death into life)
• You are forgiven
• You are free
• You are known and understood
• You are a conqueror – you’re victorious
• You are a new creation – your past does not define you
• You are blessed
• You are precious
• You are brave
• You are strong
• You are beautiful
• You are an heir of God – a son or daughter, royalty
• You are holy
• You are the light of the world
• You are the righteousness of God
• You are the apple of God’s eye
• You are treasured
• You are valuable
• You are successful
• You are powerful
• You are a masterpiece
• You are the temple of God
• You are accepted
• You are surrounded by God’s love
• You have everything you need
• You are not alone
• You are God’s
• You are safe
• You have hope