When we go into a grocery store we can pick up any canned good and know what’s in it by the label on the can. That label tells us the ingredients of what’s in the can and from that label we can also make a determination of whether or not this product is good for us. We know so much about the product in the can because man placed the product in the can and man made the label. So it’s fair to say the label on the can is pretty accurate as far as describing what’s in the can.

Now how many of us have had labels placed on us by other people? How many of us have placed labels on others? It’s inevitable in life that someone will place a label on us. We have labels put on us that are based off physical characteristics like our skin color, your sex, whether you are tall or short, etc. These labels are put upon us based off what people see.

There are other labels placed upon us based off not what people see but what they think of us. Many times people put labels on us based off preconceived notions they have of us and our abilities. Because of something they see in us, they have already determined who we are, and what’s on our label. Many times that label is wrong because it’s not written by our Creator. The one who made us and knows us so well.

When my wife Jen was in high school she was told by a counselor that she would never go to college. He put a label on her that all she was good at was sports and she wouldn’t make it in college. This negative label could have brought her down and kept her from pursuing her dream of a college degree. I mean if this guidance counselor, who is paid to advise high school students on what they should pursue after high school, doesn’t believe she can succeed why even try!

The reason to try and the reason to succeed is because that guidance counselor doesn’t determine your destiny, God does! That guidance counselor didn’t put the things inside of Jen that God did. For Jen, she didn’t accept that negative label. As a matter of fact, she says it made her mad. So not only did she attend college and graduate but has gone on to complete two Masters Degrees. And if you ask her if she used that negative label of “not smart enough to succeed in college” as motivation to succeed, she will tell you it definitely was.

God has placed inside each of us the ingredients necessary to succeed. So don’t let the negative labels people place upon you keep you from pursuing your dreams! When someone places a negative label on you to keep you from accomplishing what God has placed on your heart just rip that label right off. Dont throw it away, save it and use it as an added piece of motivation to succeed. Your not succeeding to prove them wrong. You are succeeding to show them how right our God is!

For you know what your heavenly Father has placed inside of you. He has made you to be more than a conqueror. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. As it says in Psalms 139:14 (NLT), “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it.”

If you’ve been held back by the negative labels placed upon you the action step for today is to rip those labels off. Make this the day you step out in confidence toward those dreams you have.

Truth in Love! ~ Chuck