“I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well.”
Psalm 139: 14
We cannot genuinely know who we are, until we let go of all the worldly roles and labels that define us. “Who am I?” is a critical question that you’ve probably wrestled with at one time or another. Are we who people say we are or are we who people say we are not. What if they change their minds? What happens to our sense of self? Have the challenges and trials of life ever forced you to confront the question of who you are? Are you currently struggling with a situation that’s forcing you to examine your identity in Christ?
For many of us, there are the usual flippant answers, someone’s daughter, son, sister, brother, mother, father, friend or some other role we play in the world. These are essential roles, but beneath that surface, when it counts the most, who are you really? Our celebrity dominated culture forces us to confront this question daily. Many other systems of our world suggest that unless you are wealthy, beautiful, talented, successful or hold some fancy title, you are of little significance in this world. And yet sooner or later life has a way of forcing us to confront this question of identity so that we might discover who we truly are.
Perhaps you are going through this test at home, at work or in some other circumstance. The answer is hard to come by until we can figure out whose we are. When we grasp whose we are, we will then know who we are. I thought I knew who I was in Christ until I faced deep humiliation recently when someone slighted me in a public gathering. In the heat of the moment, I found myself grasping at my title, my role, my education and my family heritage, and all the other familiar crutches many of us turn to when our faith is tested, but these all fell flat until I turned to the word of God. There I was reminded that whenever I am tested, I will find my answers in no one and nothing else, other than in my identity in God. The psalmist who knows a thing or two about testing declares in Psalm 139:14 “I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well.” Whatever the world says you are, positive or negative, do not believe it. Believe only what God’s word says about you.
In the good days and in the bad days, you too are fearfully and wonderfully made. Whether you are an executive or a stay at home parent; in a salaried occupation, self-employed or unemployed; married, divorced or single; young, middle-aged or old; black, white, yellow or brown, thin or fat, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. And as the psalmist says, God’s works are wonderful (filled with wonder) at all times, in all circumstances and in all places. God has created us, male and female in his image (Genesis 1:27) and no title or status in this earthly life can compete with that.
You are a miracle, uniquely designed for his purposes (Ephesians 2:10). You are his child loved, provided for and protected (Matthew 7:11). You are his friend, called to dwell in knowledge of him, in his presence and his favor (John 15:15). You are his disciple, called to walk in love, in obedience and in power (John 13:35). You are an heir to the kingdom of heaven, called to share in his sufferings and in his glory (Romans 8:17). You are everything God says you are, no more and no less.
Gracious and loving God, I thank you for who I am in you. Remind me each day, and in every circumstance I face, that my worth is only in you. Empty me of myself and increase your Spirit in me. Give me the power to see me as you see me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.