Who's Making Your List?

I have recently been listening to and praying for a friend who is struggling with identity.
A large part of that battle shows up in her self-talk and the things she believes about herself. And as I was praying for her recently it occurred to me that we ALL need to be on guard when it comes to the lists we make in our heads about who we are.
That is to say, I think it can be easy for us to look at our circumstances and start to believe lies if we are not careful to consider who is the one making our list.
When our station in life is difficult - when the burden is heavy - our list might look like this:
I am unloved.
I am forgotten and forsaken.
I am hopeless.
This circumstance will never improve.
I will always be hurting.
Bad things are just a fact of life for me.
Have you ever had thoughts like these running through your mind???
From where do you think they come?
On the surface I think we can see them coming from people and places in our lives: Wounds we experienced as a child in word and deed. Broken people speaking broken words to, over, and around us - yesterday and today. Failed reltionships and damaging situaions. Things which seem to continually work against us, no matter what we do.
The pain produced from these places can speak very loudly to our hearts.
Ulitmately, however, I believe the list-maker of lies is the enemy of our souls, himself.
I think we need to do everything we can to combat his lies.
And I believe a good place to start fighting him off is in creating a new list - based upon the Truth of the One who is TRUE.

Try this on for size!

I am loved. (John 3:16, Romans 5:5 & 8)
God is always with me. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
My hope is eternal and secure. (Acts 2:25-28)
My trials are temporary. (2 Corinthians 4:17 & 18)
God is working in me - even through my pain - for my good and His glory. (1 Peter 1:3-9)
Even the "bad" things in my life can be used for good in God's hands. (Romans 8:28-29)

What do you think?
As I compare these lists - even though sometimes the first list is the way I feel - I know the second option is the one which is True. And when it comes to discovering who I am and what I believe about my life, I know I want it all to be based on Truth.
I'm going with what God says.
How about you???

P.S. As long as we're talking about identity and believing what is true about ourselves and our lives, I want to mention the new Kendrick Brothers movie coming out in August. It's called OVERCOMER and is about our identity in Christ. Although I have not seen it yet, I am confident it is going to be amazing.
(The Kendrick Brothers made WAR ROOM. Need I say more???)
So, mark your calendars for August 23, and plan to head to the movie theater!