Who Am I?
There’s a great scene in the classic film “All About Eve” in which Bette Davis says “So many people know me. I wish I did. I wish someone would tell me about me.” Perhaps you have felt this way before. It’s a strange and uncomfortable feeling when you don’t know who you are. You see yourself in the mirror every morning and walk around in your body every day, and yet the person inside that reflection, that body, is a mystery. How does one begin the overwhelming task of finding out who they are? How does one discover the unique person God created them to be, rather than looking to others to tell them who they are?
The healthiest place we can start is to find out who GOD says we are. When the foundation of our identity is rooted in our job, our spouse, our peers or our hobbies, we have built our house on shifting sand. People and things come and go from our life. Jobs are lost, people die or move away, hobbies become more difficult to participate in as we age or finances become strained and we can no longer afford those hobbies. That’s when we feel disoriented and lost because the thing that told us who we are is now gone. Who am I now that I can’t do that job anymore? Who am I now that I am no longer thus-and-such’s wife? Who am I now that I am disabled or sick and can’t do the things I used to?
When we build our identity on the foundation of who GOD says we are, we are building on solid ground because God’s good opinion of us never changes. He never stops being our daddy, our protector, our comforter, our friend or our strength. He will always have good plans for us. These are just a few things the Bible says we are:
· You are a child of God. (John 1:12)
· You are justified and redeemed. (Romans 3:24)
· You are a fellow heir with Christ. (Romans 8:17)
· You are a new creation in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
· You are God’s workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10)
· You are more than a conqueror through Christ. (Romans 8:37)
· You have been made complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:9,10)
These truths about us will NEVER change, regardless of whatever circumstance is going on in our life at present. Knowing that what God says about us is really true is what anchors us and keep us from getting blown away into despair when the storms of life hit. We may grieve the person or thing we lost, but we still know who we are while we’re grieving, and that helps us keep moving forward. Who we perceive ourselves to be greatly influences the decisions we make in life, big or small, and has a powerful impact on how our life is shaped. It can lead us to make positive or negative decisions, connect with healthy or unhealthy people, or expect much or little from God.
If you are in a place in life where you aren’t sure about who you are, or who you are supposed to be, I encourage you to spend time with God in prayer and ask Him to begin to reveal to you who He created you to be and then rest in the truth He reveals to you.