Who I Am
Recently, I have been thinking about the importance of seeing who I am in God and what that means in general. As a new Christian in my youth, I was eager to step into the work that I believed I was called to, however, I was discouraged by a person in authority over me and placed more importance on their definition of who I was rather than keeping my eyes focused on the Father and what He saw in me.
I have been meditating on the question of who I am recently and felt led to write about my thoughts. A list included below:
1. He Knows Our Name
I love listening to the song by Casting Crowns. It asks the question: “Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name?” In the song, Friend of God, Israel and the New Breed asks a similar question: “Who am I that You are mindful of me?”
I can listen to these songs over and over again. They put me in a place of humility where I meditate on the wonder that the Creator of the Universe knows my name, and has my interests at heart (See Jeremiah 29:11). In Isaiah 43:1, the bible tells us, “…I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
2. We have Power
God says we have power. As the body of Christ, we have the ability to move mountains. He told us that we could do greater works than He did (See John 14:12).
In Acts 1:8 we are told that we will “receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…” In 2 Timothy 1:7 we read that “…the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power….”
3. We are Strong
One of the most memorable verses in the New Testament is found in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Christ gives us strength to face the daily, and no matter the situation(s) we are facing, remember, our God is bigger, and He has already won the battle. As soon as Daniel started praying (Daniel 9:20-23), the answer was on its way from God. God hears us
and wants the best for us. We can be continually seeking His will for our lives, and praying for guidance that we continue to walk according to His word.
4. We have Authority
Jesus gave us all authority (See Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 10:19, and Mark 16:15-18). We have authority over things in heaven and on earth. We need to assert our authority that Jesus has vested in us over situations, trials, jobs, our personal ministry to others, and our work for the body of Christ, among other things.
5. We are Salt, & Light
God says we are “the light of the world” (See Matthew 5:14-16), as such we can live lives that reflect that light, so all glory will be assigned to Him. In Ephesians 5:8 we are encouraged to “Live as children of light.” As the light of the world we cannot allow ourselves to be diminished by the world. When people look at us, and I say this in all love this applies to myself as well, do they see Jesus or our favorite team, favorite book, favorite movie star, are we more vocal about following Taylor Swift or another musical artist or band than Jesus?
In 1 Thessalonians 5:5 the theme of light is reinforced by reminding us that “You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.”
God also tells us that we are “the salt of the earth.” We are not to put ourselves in situations where we lose our ability to affect change. We are here to change the world, to expand God’s kingdom on earth, not to be influenced or changed by what is going on in the world.
6. We are Chosen
In Jeremiah 1:5, God tells us that before we were formed in the womb, He knew us. Let that sink in for a minute. Before your parents got together, God knew you. He had you on His mind. 1 Peter 2:9 lets us know: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession…” How amazing is that thought? Not only did He know us before we were formed, but He also calls us His chosen. He knows the number of hairs on our head. He made us in His image and likeness. He gave us authority over angels.
Psalm 139:13-14 says that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” God took His time creating us. We are all unique and we are to never compare ourselves to anyone else. In the book of Revelation 2:17, we are told that God will give us a new name. Deuteronomy 7:6 “…The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” Out of the billions of people on earth, we are chosen, we are special, we are unique.
7. We are to Speak Life
Our words have impact. In Proverbs 18:21 we are told, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” That means what we say matters. Especially as believers, we have to be careful about what we say about ourselves, our children, and others.
As a young believer, my mother impressed upon me the importance of being careful of what I speak. She counseled me against saying certain things and, decades later, having read the scriptures for myself, I realized the wisdom in her words.
Think about your prayer. You ask God to heal you, but you keep saying I will always be sick. You pray for a new job, but you complain that you are always broke. You may get a new job, but if you keep saying you do not have money, it goes counter to what you are praying for.
One of the most concerning scriptures that I have come across is Matthew 12:36-37 which talks about being judged on idle words. Various translations say unwholesome words, careless words, empty words, or words that cause decay or rot. My understanding is words that seek to tear down others, or that may cause others to stumble, or that judge others, are words that go against the teachings of Christ. It is interesting to note that Jesus talks about this after being accused by the Pharisees and Sadducees of being in league with demons (See Matthew 12:24).
These are a few things that God says about us as believers. I think we can challenge ourselves in 2024 to be even better Christians than before by stepping into the authority that God has ordained for us.
One final thought, as believers we have the mind of Christ (See 1 Corinthians 2:16). As such, understand that things we do may seem weird to unbelievers and positions we take may be unpopular. The Bible tells us to pray for those in authority over us, not to condemn them or their policies or their character. God will judge them, we are cautioned to “judge not, so that we may not be judged.”
There is definitely a lot to unpack here, we all need to understand who we are and whose we are so that we can continue to grow in Christ, and that the body of Christ will grow accordingly because of our salt and light.
CT