The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children (Romans 8:15, 16).
Here is an astonishing truth.
God wants you to know exactly what he thinks about you. This is so important to him that he sent His Spirit to take up residence in you.
It is impossible for us to know what God thinks about us apart from his Spirit. As Paul explained, "the eye has not seen, the ear has not heard, nor has the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). This is beyond us.
So God sent his Spirit to reveal these things to us. "What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us" (1 Corinthians 2:12).
What this means is that through the Spirit of God, you now have the mind of Christ. Because you have the Spirit living inside of you, you can know and understand those things he has freely given you.
Things like your new identity in Christ. The Spirit himself testifies with your spirit that you are a child of God.
Now your actions and thoughts, or the opinions of others might lead you to a different conclusion, that you aren't a child of God. And that conclusion can activate that old fear in your life. But it is a conclusion not based in truth.
The Spirit is the one who brings truth to the mind. And when he testifies to your spirit that you are a child of God, that is who you are. Everything else may think differently, but not God. You are his child forever. This is what he thinks about you.
Today, thank God for his Spirit, and that by his Spirit you know what God thinks about you.
In Him,
Bob Christopher