Brittany Maher is a writer & digital artist with a heart for the lost, and Cassandra Speer is a speaker and author whose heart is driven by the desire to write words that offer solidarity, peace and hope that soothe weary souls. Together they lead Her True Worth, a growing online community of women discovering their true worth in Christ. In their new book, Her True Worth: Breaking Free from a Culture of Selfies, Side Hustles, and People Pleasing to Embrace Your True Identity in Christ, Brittany and Cassandra deliver a powerful call to women to break free from the bondage of false identities and discover their true worth in Jesus Christ. It’s a grace to welcome Brittany and Cassandra to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Brittany Maher & Cassandra Speer

We love superhero movies. They are exciting, action-packed, and filled with courage and adventure. Most superhero origin stories reach a pivotal point in the film where the main character finally realizes their full potential when they discover who they truly are—their true identity.

Take, for example, Diana Prince, also known as Wonder Woman. In the story from DC Comics, Diana was a mighty warrior from the society of women known as the Amazons. Diana considered herself to be just like the other Amazons when really, she was so much more. She wasn’t just a strong, beautiful, fearless warrior; she was the daughter of a god. But because she didn’t know her true born identity, she wasn’t able to step into the power she was born with.

“You can have all the power in the world, but if you don’t believe it, you will never walk in it.”

If you don’t know you are Wonder Woman, you won’t be Wonder Woman. You can have all the power in the world, but if you don’t believe it, you will never walk in it. You won’t try to fly, block bullets, or save the world.

A similar principle is true for us. If we don’t know who we are, we will not walk in our God-given potential and purpose. We are born with an identity given to us by God. We are daughters of the Most High God, the Creator of heaven and earth. He is the Alpha and Omega, the King of glory, yet He calls us by name and His thoughts are vast about us. (Psalm 149:17)

With every superhero story, there is a supervillain who is actively working to destroy the world. Wonder Woman’s arch nemesis in the 2017 film Wonder Woman was Ares, the god of war, the son of Zeus and her half-brother. Ares was an egotistical, bloodthirsty maniac bent on destroying humanity at any cost. Sound familiar?

“Every single day, we are at war for our worth.”

Our status as daughters of the King gives us our identity, but it also presents us with our adversary.

Every single day, we are at war for our worth. The devil viciously attempts to rob us of our identity because we pose the greatest threat to him when we know who we are in Christ.

The Enemy is our greatest identity thief. Jesus said of him, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 esv). The enemy of our souls will stop at nothing to eradicate what God is doing in us and through us. And most of the time, in our experience, the first place he tries to attack is our identity. Identity is where everything about us begins and is rooted from. Without identity, we flounder.

“God gives us our identity through Christ, breathes life into our lives through His Word, and gives us hope for a future secure in Him.”

He aims to steal our identity by tempting us with a counterfeit. Kill our relationship with God. And destroy our lives and our future. Whereas God gives us our identity through Christ, breathes life into our lives through His Word, and gives us hope for a future secure in Him.

The two of us are wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, friends, writers, and more. Our identity characteristics may be how others view us or how we’re positioned in society, but they aren’t who we are.

Neither of us were born a wife or mother. We didn’t come out of our mother’s wombs as writers. These are simply roles and activities we’ve acquired over time. But our most fundamental identity, that both of us share, is that we are uniquely and intentionally formed in the image of God. We are His daughters.

Each of us are fearfully and wonderfully made. That is how God describes us in Scripture (Psalm 139:14).  That is the core of our being. Beloved.

When we function from that identity, everything beyond that is just an identity characteristic—a role or activity that could end or change without making us lose our identity, or undermine who we are in God.

It’s important to note that in order to truly know and understand who we are in Christ, we must first confront the truth of who we are not.

We are not:

Our past mistakes.
Our failures.
Our roles and responsibilities.
The amount of likes on our selfies.
Our successes.
Our following on social media.
Our wins.
Our pinterest-perfect life.
Our flaws.
Our trauma.
Our looks.
The amount of praise and affirmation we receive from others.

“Who we are and where our worth lies is simplified into this one definition: Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for us.”

Who we are and where our worth lies is simplified into this one definition: Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for us. We know that we are worthy to God because He paid the highest cost for our salvation: the life of Jesus Christ.

But, we are forgetful. Heck, half the time we can’t even remember what we had for breakfast. And if the two of us are being honest, we don’t always remember our worth to God or who we are in him.

Because we are so forgetful, it’s critical to speak his truth over ourselves and apply his Word to our lives daily.

If we are living our lives with our worth and identity up for grabs, then anything that comes along our way that feels satisfying in the moment will pull our attention and tempt us to place our worth in it.

Counterfeit identities aren’t just an epidemic in the world around us but also in the online world, too. The devil is all up in the digital details. Social media is a perfect example of the wrong thing to place your worth in when used unhealthily. The likes, the comments, the follows/unfollows. It all feeds our desperation for affirmation yet at the same time serves as a harsh avenue for rejection. When we log on social media from a heart posture of comparison, jealousy, envy, and worthlessness – then the “scroll” becomes a highlight reel that states the obvious that we are falling short in comparison to the lives of these people who are putting their best foot forward in that space. If we fall prey to the desire of trying to keep up with the ever-changing opinions of others, we will always be chasing a moving target.

This is why it is so important to be rooted, grounded, and anchored in the truth of who God says that we are.

This is who God says we are:

Fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)
God’s masterpiece and crowned jewel of creation. (Ephesians 2:10)
Made in God’s image. (Genesis 1:27)
Forgiven. (1 John 1:9)
Redeemed by God through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:7-8)
Called by name, not called by our sin. (Isaiah 43:1)
A new creation–the old life is gone. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Greatly loved by God. (Romans 8:31-30)
His child. (1 John 3:1)
An heir with God and co-heir with Christ. (Romans 8:17)
A member of God’s family. (Ephesians 2:19-22)
Blessed. (Philippians 4:19)
Chosen, and set apart for God. (1 Peter 2:9)
His treasured possession. (Deuteronomy 14:2)
Precious to God. (Isaiah 43:4)

“rest in the truth that you no longer have to work for your worth, but rather live from it.”

Rest in these truths, friend.

And also rest in the truth that you no longer have to work for your worth, but rather live from it.

The pressure is off. We can’t earn or work to obtain our worth or our status as daughters of God. God has already determined that through His Son.

Lord, help us to not forget who we are and whose we are.

Sister, we don’t want to become like the man described by the apostle James who looked in the mirror but forgot what he looked like as soon as he walked away because he didn’t do what the Word says (James 1:23–24).

“We have to be hearers and doers, putting his Word into action every single day.”

You see, most people look in the mirror for a purpose—to comb their hair, brush their teeth, or make sure they don’t have toilet paper on their shoe—not just to stare mindlessly at their own reflection. Likewise, a healthy Christian reads the Bible not just to store up facts and knowledge that they’ll never put to good use, but to take action. We have to be hearers and doers, putting his Word into action every single day.

When we apply God’s Word in our lives it becomes heart knowledge, not just words written on a page. We must immerse ourselves in God’s Word daily so that we can write it on the tablet of our hearts and live from His truth. (Proverbs 7:1-3)

Even in the face of the Enemy’s lies, because let’s face it – he is always speaking lies and screaming accusations at us – we can keep our perspective clear. Even in the midst of adversity.

Life will try and beat the truth out of you—or, rather, the Enemy will try and beat it out of you through your circumstances. And we’re here to encourage you to throw some punches right back at the devil. You hold the authority in Jesus’ name, friend! Pick up your sword (the Word of God) and dispel the lies once and for all. He can’t win. He may be vicious in his attempts, but he will never hold the victory. Jesus does.

Though the battle rages on, we proclaim victory from the trenches in the mighty name of Jesus. It is finished! (John 19:30).

Remind yourself every day of this simple yet powerful truth that your true worth isn’t based on you or your circumstances. It’s not something you can work for, achieve, or accomplish. It’s not found in your status, appearance, social media following, or relationships. It’s found in one thing and one thing only: Jesus.

[ Our humble thanks to Thomas Nelson for their partnership in today’s devotion ]