Reflection: Who Am I?
The Big Question: Who Am I?
Have you ever asked the question, “Who am I?” Sometimes in October 2017 while we were having our family devotion, I was trying to explain the importance of self discovery to my children. I told my three sons that I don’t fully know who they are and they don’t fully know who their father is either. I told them that my wife also does not fully know me and vice-versa. The point I made that blew their mind was that it is possible for a man not to fully know himself.
At this juncture, I could see some high level of curiosity and confusion on my sons’ faces. My little boy probingly asked, “Daddy how can you say that we don’t know you and how can you say that you don’t know yourself? You are our dad and we are your sons, so we know you very well.” He only spoke as far as he knew but there was more to know about me. He was really wondering why I would utter such a statement. Afterall, he sees me everyday and he could describe how I look, and he knows my likes and dislikes.
I however took my time to explain what I meant to them and I backed this up with the scriptures. I was talking beyond the physical look but about God’s plans and purpose for our lives. The truth is that, I know what God has done through me in the past and I can see what He is doing presently, I don’t have a total picture of what He will do in the future.
Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
1 Corinthians 13:9
‘For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.”
Disqualified by Self, Chosen by God
When God rolled out the credentials of Gideon, he did not believe that he was the one God was talking about. He had an encounter with the angel of the Lord under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. God described him as a mighty warrior and he had never seen himself that way before. He tried to argue with God saying his clan was the weakest in Manasseh and he was the least in the family. In his own resume, he would never describe himself as a mighty man of valour. However, that was how God saw him (Judges 6:11-22).
The manufacturer is the only one who fully understands the functionality of his products. Until you have an encounter with God, who is our manufacturer, and He reveals His purpose for your life to you, you might never realize who you are.
Moses was another man who also argued with God thinking he did not have the capacity to carry out God’s assignment. A great prophet would have died as a mere shepherd (Exodus 3). As far as Moses was concerned, he was not qualified for the assignment that God had for him. It was such an irony. Your employer said that you are qualified for a job simply because he knows and sees your potential, yet you are disqualifying yourself from the job that your employer knows that you are qualified for. Our God is actually more than our employer, He is our creator. He knows our ability and capability. We only need to surrender totally to His will.
Chosen Beyond Human Judgment
Your biological father may not even know who you are. Do you remember the case of David’s dad? Jesse never bothered to present David to Prophet Samuel when he came to anoint one of his sons as the king over Israel. In his mind, David was not even worthy of that exalted position. He didn’t reckon with David as far as that job was concerned. He had completely forgotten him in the bush.
How come that a national prophet will tell Jesse to present all his sons and he left one out? What kind of father does that? Nevertheless, that same stone that the builder rejected was actually the corner stone. The same David that his father thought was not qualified to be the king over Israel was God’s chosen one. He was the man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 118:22; 1 Peter 2:6-8).
Your siblings may not understand who you truly are or whom you are going to become in life. When God revealed through a dream, a glimpse of what will happen to Joseph in the future, his brothers attacked him and they did not find his dream funny at all. Joseph’s brothers might have been threatened by Joseph’s dream and they devised all sorts of schemes so that the dream would never come to pass. If they had known that selling him into slavery would not debar him from actualizing his dream, probably they would not have done so. They later regretted their actions.
Genesis 37:8 (NIV)
“ His brothers said to him, “do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?’ And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said”
Recall how David’s brothers warned him not to face Goliath. Yet he went on to confront and defeat him. As far as they were concerned, David did not have the experience for such a job. His stature also betrayed them, he was not as hefty as Goliath. He had never gone to any war nor fought such a battle before. To worsen it all, the Goliath he wanted to confront was an experienced soldier. They never realized that the anointing that was earlier placed on him by Samuel had prepared him for such a job.
1 Samuel 17:28 (NIV)
“When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked , “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle”
As far as Eliab was concerned, David was just a spectator and not a participator or a contributor. He only came to watch and he was not a solution provider. Eliab believed that David had nothing to offer as far as the battle was concerned. He reasoned that if he, an experienced soldier, was afraid to face Goliath, then David could not be qualified. David was only a young, inexperienced shepherd boy. In his mind, David’s youth and lack of battle experience made such confidence seem unrealistic. It is nevertheless on record that it was David, who killed Goliath. He was the one who solved that national problem. He was the one who saved Israel from international embarrassment. So, your siblings might say that you are not qualified for a job which God has qualified you for.
Your parents may also not know who you are. Don’t forget that Joseph’s dad questioned Joseph wondering about the kind of dream he had when he said that his dad, mum and siblings will one day bow down to him. Jacob rebuked Joseph for his dreams. It looked ridiculous, it looked unimaginable and it looked unthinkable and untenable. So, if God tells you who you are, many people might not even believe you, and that may include your parents and your siblings.
Genesis 37:10-11 (NIV)
“When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.”
As parents, we are supposed to seek the face of God concerning our children so that we can discover God’s purpose for their lives. That’s the only way we will not mislead them.
My eldest son later said, “But your pastor should be able to know who you are.” I replied to him and said, it is possible for your pastor not to also know who you are. If we consider the case of Samuel, he almost anointed Eliab in place of David before God cautioned him not to do that. If not for the fact that God intervened, Samuel would have made a grievous mistake.
A man of God can only know what God has revealed to him. No man of God is Omniscience. It is only God that owns that title. God knows all things. Any man of God who claims he knows all things is intentionally laying claim to a position that solely belongs to God. Eli the prophet rebuked Hannah thinking she was drunk when she was actually praying to God. He didn’t realize that Hannah was praying.
1 Samuel 16:6-7 (NLT)
“When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!’ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 1:13 (NIV)
“Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk”
From what we have considered so far, it is clear that you don’t completely understand who you are. Your siblings, your parents, your friends, your pastor or your employer does not fully know you. To know who you are, you need to go to the manufacturer (God). He is the only one who has the capacity to reveal the functionality of His product. It is only the Creator that understands the full potential of His creatures. God knows who you are and He is the only one that can reveal yourself to you.
Prayer Point:
Father, I pray you will reveal your plans and purpose for my life in Jesus’ name. Show me the manual for my life. Give me the grace to maximize my full potential and finish my race well. I don’t want to fight like someone who is beating the air. I don’t want to run this race in uncertainty. I want to finish well and finish strong, but I cannot accomplish this without you leading me into the plans that you have for my life. Thank you Jesus for answered prayers. In Jesus name I have prayed. Amen!
If you have not given your life to Jesus and you want to do so, say this prayer: “Lord Jesus, thank you for saving me by dying on the cross for me. I acknowledge that I am a sinner because all have sinned and come short of your glory. I believe that your blood has the power to cleanse me from my sins. Today, I accept you as my personal Lord and Saviour. I repent of my sins and as from now on, I will no longer be a slave to sin. Instead, I embrace your righteousness, and will begin to walk in the consciousness of the new light that I have found in you. In Jesus’ name I have prayed (amen).
If you have just said this prayer, please send an email to: [email protected]
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