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How to Gain Serious Confidence Through God (for LDS Youth)
Why Satan Wants You to Feel Bad About Yourself
Did you know that Satan is absolutely terrified of who you can become?
It’s true!
He is working nonstop to halt your progress in becoming a spiritual warrior who defends God’s kingdom.
And unfortunately, one of his most successful tactics in this fight is to make you forget your true identity. Why? Because if you forget who you really are, Satan can keep you so busy running in circles trying to find your worth that you won’t have time to fight the spiritual battles that matter most.
Don’t believe me?
Let’s do an experiment.
A Self Worth Experiment
I want you to fill in the blank for this sentence: according to the world I need to be __________ to be loved/accepted.
Really think about that. If you were going to a brand new school what would you feel like you needed to do to make friends and be accepted?
Most youth would say they need to wear the right clothes, be physically fit, have money to spend on fun activities, be smart but not too smart, be happy, be good-looking, and on, and on, and on.
That list is exhausting!
But let’s try a different fill-in-the-blank. According to Jesus I need to be ________ to be loved/accepted.
Really think about that. What would you put in the blank there?
I’ll give you a hint– it’s a trick question. There is NOTHING that goes in the blank because Jesus and Heavenly Father love you no matter what! You can be unpopular, wear all the wrong clothes, have zero dollars in your pocket, and have a crazy bad hair day and they will still love you!
Heavenly Father Loves You No Matter What
“Heavenly Father loves you—each of you. That love never changes.
It is not influenced by your appearance or by your possessions.
It is not changed by your talents and abilities. It is simply there.
It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful.
God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there.” – Thomas S. Monson
Can you sense how liberating it would be to truly trust and believe in that? How much time and energy would you save each day if you worried less about what others think and focused more on who God wants you to become?
It would be awesome!
So how do you remember who you really are? Let’s find out with a story about a prophet you might know.
How Moses Learned About His REAL Identity
Once upon a time God’s people, the Israelites, were being kept as slaves in the land of Egypt. The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years, so the Egyptians had gotten pretty used to having slaves do all the hard work for free.
Well one day an Israelite named Moses– who wasn’t a slave– was out doing his work for the day, herding sheep, when he saw something surprising: a burning bush that didn’t catch on fire. God spoke to him from the bush and told Moses that he needed to go to Egypt and tell the Pharaoh to let all of the Israelite slaves go free.
Can you imagine how Moses must have felt? I think he must have been surprised, worried, and maybe even a little sad that HE had to be the one to do this.
But then, as he was on his way to Egypt to do this scary assignment, Moses was “caught up” to the top of a mountain where he came face to face with none other than — GOD! What an experience.
God must have known just how Moses was feeling as he traveled toward Egypt, because He told Moses something really important.
God spoke to Moses and said, “Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name. . . .” in other words He told Moses “I am the most powerful and perfect being in the universe.”
Then God said, “And behold, thou art my son . . . “ In other words, “Moses, I’m God and you’re my child– you have infinite potential”
Then he said, “And I have a work for thee. . . “ In other words, “You have something important to do with all this potential you have.”
Three Pillars of Moses’ (and Your!) Identity
Don’t you find that interesting that God stopped Moses on his way to do a difficult assignment and made sure he was crystal clear on these three parts of his identity: God is God, Moses was His son, and Moses had important work to do.
It’s no wonder that after this experience Moses was able to perform mighty miracles. He stuck as close to God as he could– He spoke to Him in prayer and listened to His voice– and Moses was reminded every day of those three pillars of his identity. He remembered that he was God’s son with an important work to do.
Now here’s a question for you: have you ever felt like Moses? Have you ever felt depressed, scared, or confused?
If so, it can help to understand your TRUE identity. Your TRUE identity is built on the same 3 pillars as Moses’ was:
- God is God
- You are His child, and
- You have a work to do
The more time you spend with God in the scriptures and prayer, the more he can remind you of your real identity. But on the opposite side, the less time you spend with God the more the world is able to convince you that our worth depends on things like our clothes, our looks, our talents, and more.
So here is your message from a loving Heavenly Father for today: labels don’t matter, how much money you have doesn’t matter, what you look like doesn’t matter– because the fact is you are LOVED by the God of Heaven, you are His child, and you have an important work to do!
YouTube Description:
How can modern teenagers have positive self worth in a world that is constantly ripping them down?
It starts with being seriously focused on the three pillars of their REAL identity and learning to let everything else go.
Learn from the example of Moses in this short animated video for Latter-day Saint families.