Just like the story of Punchinello, the truth is that we are assaulted in the area of our identity every day. Negative events from childhood through adulthood, negative conversations and conflict, even scenarios we see on television or in movies – can all invoke emotions that remind us of these painful times in our past. These echoes from the past are connected to powerful statements of belief that still remain in our heart and mind, constantly telling us who we think we are.

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People assault us – “There is nothing special about you Punchinello!”

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The Enemy assaults us – “Even if God could help you, with all your mistakes and failures, do you think He’d really want to see you?”

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Then memories confirm those assaults – “Their right…with all my faults and failures, He wouldn’t want to talk to me.”

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Even now, when you make a mistake, or when you think you have repented of something, only to turn around and do it again, a voice says, “Look what you did!  You deserve a lot of dots.  No stars for you – just dots!!”

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EXERCISE 1

Many Times I’ve Failed

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On a piece of paper, draw a horizontal line (drawn from right to left) across the page to divide the page in half. Label this page "1". On the top half, briefly describe a time when you feel like you failed and were given a gray dot, like Punchinello.  Leave the bottom side of the page blank for now. Take a moment and do this.

  

Because people may have rejected us or have not given us room to fail gracefully, we tend to go on rejecting ourselves in many ways throughout life. We tend to focus more on our flaws and perpetuating them to match how we feel about ourselves inside.  Even when other people with no hidden agenda see the good in us, we cannot see it.