I know who I am! Do I?

Israel Houghton is one of my favorite gospel recording artists and in the beginning of that song "Identity", he said, "one of the things plaguing our generation today is the issue of identity" We've all heard several songs that speak to identity, boldly proclaiming that we know who we are in Christ, that we know our God. When we hear those songs that are often in the tone of declaration, we sing them with boldness and confidence even with extra oomph!! "I'm walking in power, I'm walking in miracles, I live a life of favor, I know who I am..." That was sang by Sinach. Israel Houghton sang it best in His song when he sang, "You are my father, You are Father, in You I find my identity". Genesis 1:26-27 says:

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, 

so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, 

over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all 

the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image,

    in the image of God he created them;

    male and female he created them.

Now say with me "Imago dei"! Imago dei is the Hebrew way of saying Image of God. I was introduced to this concept a few weeks ago in the Bible College class I'm taking.  My professor asked "What does that look like to you?, to be made in the image of God? I went blank. I'd never considered that before. If someone asks who are you, you begin to recite your name, tell your age, tell your mother and father's names and say you're their daughter or son; maybe give your social security number to add validity; but it's way deeper than that.
To really begin to answer the question, 'Who am I?' , you must begin to understand the image of whom you were actually created. God said "let us make man in our image and in our likeness". Image simply put is the physical representation or physical likeness of a person, thing or animal, the resemblance, depiction or portrayal.

Now what is God like? What is the image of God? God is love, God is peace, God is power, God is intelligent, God is creative, God is patient, God is kind, God is bold, God is beautiful. God is emotional but He is rational. God is free and He is holy. God is awesome and the list is endless. All these things that God is, we are.

I started to wonder, why we human beings don't recognize that? I considered going back to the beginning after God created Adam and Eve and He gave them free will and access to everything He created with just one clause. We all know what that clause, in  Genesis 2:16-17," ...eat of every tree but the tree of knowledge of good and evil". Now something we must always remember of Satan is that he does not create, he cannot create, he was created in beauty and splendor but likened his beauty and splendor to his own power and might, that's why he fell. What Satan does is he tweaks everything, mars and scratches things all up so we don't recognize the original form.

 You were made in the image and likeness of God but if you don't recognize that Satan plays on it and feeds you with lies like, you're slow, you can't figure things out. You're ugly, guys will never be attracted to you. You're nose is too big, you're too dark, you're hopeless, even if good things come your way you won't recognize it. You have anger issues, your heart is too dark to ever recognize when you need to be patient and listen. Sing? , you can't sing, you're too shy, you can't even look your dog in the eyes let alone look into a crowd of people. Lies, Lies, Lies.. Satan is the father of lies!
On the other side of every lie is what?....the Truth. What is the Truth?, the Word of God. 

After God created us the second gift after life was the ability to create. He said to us "be fruitful and multiply. So you have the ability to create. That is the first ability in your identity. Satan makes people believe they are homosexual in order to minimize that ability to create, to procreate. Satan makes people believe they don't have talents so they don't tap into their creative abilities. The next thing God blessed us with is dominion, power, authority! When God created the animals, He gave Adam the ability to give names to all the living creatures including his wife. That is authority. The ability to speak those things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). Depression is not yours, oppression is not yours, weakness is not yours, sickness is not yours!  The minute you begin to allow those things to be spoken into your life, they are planted as seeds and begin to grow. You must exercise authority over those things. His Word says in 2 Tim 1:7, "For God has not giving you the spirit of fear but of boldness, of power and of a sound mind"....other versions say the spirit of timidity... some say but of self-control. God is not timid, God is not fearful, God is power and He is boldness.