Finding True Identity in an Age of AI

At a recent workshop I attended, women gathered with fresh cups of coffee and received some unusual instructions: Think of a limiting belief you’ve been holding on to recently (one of those recurring thoughts keeping you from taking a needed next step), write it down, then craft a positive statement that addresses it. 

“You may even share your limiting belief with ChatGPT and ask it to craft a statement for you,” the facilitator encouraged. After several minutes, everyone regrouped. With shining eyes and broad smiles, most described what an AI chatbot had told them.

I walked into that meeting feeling discouraged—fresh rejection, bleak realities, and questions about whether my work even mattered. Was it a calling from God, or something I had manufactured on my own? 

I could have asked ChatGPT for affirmations. As an experiment, I did just now. It told me things like, “My calling is not validated by attention but by the quiet conviction that this is what I was created to do.” 

Those words feel nice. They boost my confidence and may even motivate me to keep going. But they ring hollow—marked by the artificiality of a chatbot. 

That same week, a mentor I deeply respect took what could have been a five-minute call and instead spoke truth to my heart that I desperately needed to hear. Later, my husband offered further encouragement. The reality is, I felt far more strengthened by those conversations than I would have by anything artificial intelligence could generate.

People turn to AI for lots of things, and I see value in many of the services it provides. It helps organize my scattered ideas into a logical flow. It’s great at suggesting conversation starters to spark deeper connections. It can generate a meal idea from the random ingredients in my pantry and refrigerator. It can even take an existing talk and swiftly build a slide deck. 

But if we look to ChatGPT to speak into our identity, we begin cultivating something artificial. AI cannot replace personal connection or Spirit-led truth—and it must not replace Christ-centered encouragement. 

You have truth I need to hear, and I have truth you need to hear. We have been given a holy commission to encourage one another. I can’t speak your words for you, and you can’t speak mine. This encouragement is not just a good idea; it’s a scriptural mandate—one that Christ Himself empowers us to fulfill (2 Tim. 4:1–2). 

Our Help Comes from the Lord

In that workshop I attended, we were encouraged to tell ChatGPT a fear we were facing or a lie we believed and ask for affirming statements to counter it. But as believers, we must remember: our help comes from the Lord alone. We have the beautiful invitation to look to Him for truth and encouragement in discouraging times. 

Psalm 121 gives us a picture of what it looks like to turn to the Lord for help. This psalm was written to be sung on a journey. Traditionally, pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem to worship and sacrifice would sing these words as they made their way to the holy city: 

I lift my eyes toward the mountains. 
Where will my help come from? 
My help comes from the LORD, 
the Maker of heaven and earth. (‭‭vv. 1–‭2‬)

You, dear friend, are on a journey, headed toward a holy city. Your day is filled with worship and sacrifice as you embrace the sacred calling God has given you—whether that is mothering, mentoring, or simply walking faithfully with Jesus. Pray Psalm 121:1–2 as you go.

Our Hope Is in the Lord

Some women in that gathering walked away with what felt like hope—a polished, affirming statement they could design in Canva and turn into a pretty social media post or phone lock screen. But I wonder whether glancing at an artificially generated phrase will hold firm when those fears or lies inevitably return. 

As believers, we will face challenges. We will become faint and weary. At times we may even stumble and fall under the weight of daily realities. But Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭31‬ shows us where to turn: 

Those who trust in the LORD 
will renew their strength; 
they will soar on wings like eagles; 
they will run and not become weary, 
they will walk and not faint.

The word trust is sometimes translated hope. As believers, we need something to hope in—something more enduring than an artificial identity or a beautifully designed but contextless quote. That’s why diving deep into the riches of God’s Word is so vital. “I wait for the LORD; I wait and put my hope in his word” (Psalm 130:5).

Our Calling to Encourage Is from the Lord

Rather than allowing artificial intelligence and ChatGPT to fill a space only Christ can occupy, let’s look for ways to show up in one another’s lives with the hope of the gospel. Pray for God to open your eyes to those around you who need truth and encouragement. 

Sometimes connection is simple—a text message, a voice memo, a phone call, or a quick handwritten note. We have a holy responsibility to strengthen, encourage, and comfort others (1 Cor. 14:3). There are people in your life who are looking to AI for validation and identity. How powerful it will be when they encounter Christ through you instead. 

When you reach out in obedience and hope, you’re fulfilling the admonition of Hebrews 10:23–25: 

Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.

I am not anti-AI. I use and appreciate large language model tools almost every day. As children of God, however, we must look first to the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God as primary sources for direction and discipleship. 

Now is the time to anchor our hearts and identities in the truth of God’s Word. As AI models improve, the prompts will transition. Instead of typing, “I believe that no one appreciates my work. Write a positive statement addressing this belief in my life and encourage me to keep going,” someone with more AI experience might say, “I feel like no one appreciates my work. Consider relevant Scripture passages that address this limiting belief. Speak truth to my heart and tell me what God would say to me about this feeling.” 

While this second option might return encouraging content, we must first turn to God’s Word and His Spirit for direction, not an easy-to-access chatbot. When I bypass the hard yet rewarding work of engaging Scripture—studying to show myself approved, meditating on truth, and lingering over its beauty—what am I missing? When I rush to AI for affirmation or to untangle spiritual questions, I have to ask: Is my heart set on the Lord—or on something else?

Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:3–5 are fully applicable for our era of artificial intelligence: 

For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 

AI is trained to give you an answer every time—but that answer will never be bigger than your question. 

Friend, keep embracing sound doctrine, even when it feels easier to ask ChatGPT or Claude. Don’t keep adjusting your prompt until you hear what you want to hear. At the same time, you don’t have to avoid large language model tools out of fear. Instead, join your Savior in the joy-filled work of delighting in the wonder of His Word, employing self-control and endurance as you personally study. You are called to fulfill your ministry through the joy and empowerment Christ gives—not to outsource that calling to artificial intelligence.