Remember who you are and who God is

The first thing I learned in my Christian journey was to take time daily with God, reading the Bible and praying, habits I still practice daily. Every morning I read the Bible or other Christian material and focus my thoughts on the goodness of the Most High. I feel my faith being strengthened and negative thoughts vanishing. Then I pray for anything weighing on my heart. I put my loved ones in God’s loving hands. Then I wait and listen to His still small voice speaking to me.

Still, I have made plenty of mistakes, for I am human. After one such mistake a few years ago, I had to begin again in an area of my life. But even after I had done the right thing and returned to the will of God, I felt very discouraged, until I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit whisper to me, “Remember who you are!’’

“What?!” I questioned. The Holy Spirit went on to whisper: “You are a child of the living God. You are made in His image. Remember all the courageous things that you have done up to now. You are a fighter, and no one can take that away from you.”

I recalled an instance when my father, who used to go mountain climbing with us kids and our friends, got lost on a mountain called Pico da Tijuca, one of the tallest mountains in Rio. It had rained that week and the trail washed away. Instead of giving up, he said, “We can see the peak, and if we keep going up, we will get there.” He went ahead of us with his big stick, cutting through the brush, and soon we made it to the top and had the privilege of seeing a view of Rio, which is nicknamed Marvelous City.

So, the second most important thing that I have learned is not to give up on myself when I make mistakes, but rather to get up and try again. Our mistakes are part of our learning. There are times when we lose our way, as my father did on the mountain, but God can make a way where there is no way if we keep looking up to His promises. We need to remember who we are, and most of all, who God is. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. … The Lord Almighty is with us” (Psalm 46:1, 7 NIV).