Who am I? If I asked you right now, “Who are you?” What would you say? You might give me your name, you might tell me you’re a cheerleader, a soccer player, a musician, a daughter, a son, a Christian, fill in the blank.
…But that’s not deep enough. At the end of the day when you’ve left the judging eyes and when there’s no expectation for you to perform in a certain way, who are you? When you take off the uniform, when you put down the instrument, when you’re not at family dinner: who are you?
“Identity: the state or fact of remaining the same one or ones, as under varying aspects or conditions” (dictionary.com). Identity is who you are despite all of the variants in your life. You can “be” and do a million different things, but only one thing can truly define you. What holds your identity?
“But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:11-15)
Moses was conflicted. He was given a difficult task, and he obviously doubted his ability to accomplish what God asked. His first question to God, “Who am I?” God simply answers, “I will be with you.” That is enough. Period. God knows there’s no real need apart from His power. But Moses continues, “What if they ask for a name?!” At this point, Moses was looking for any excuse to get out of his most important role. I can imagine God being pretty fed up at this point, which is why I believe He might have yelled from inside that burning bush. When I text or facebook, I use all-caps to signify raising my voice. I’m not going to claim that Moses, as the author of Exodus was trying to signify the same thing when he capitalized God’s response, but it is likely that God wanted to make this point clear.
“I AM WHO I AM.” There is no better way to define Him, because He is the defining one. He is the definition, the true identity. Everyone else is identified through and in Him. Whether we want to recognize that or not, God is our Creator. He holds our very being without us knowing it most of the time. Or maybe we do know it, but we just deny it.
We seek the things of this world to define us, because those things immediately satisfy us. They are tangible. We want to feel, touch, see. If we all had a yelling burning bush experience, then maybe we wouldn’t use our friends, sports, family, or school to define us. Maybe then we would turn away from the things that continue to hurt us. No love is like the love of our Father. It is true Love: unconditional, through and through. Not dependent on what we can do or be. It just is. God just is. Nothing can move or shake or change Him. He will always be constant, always be faithful, always be there.
So I ask this question again: “Who are you?” Will you continue to seek the fleeting things of this world to define you? Is it worth it? Is it worth the pain, when you realize that all these things will fade and fail? God is here now and He is waiting patiently for you to call on Him. He is waiting to pick you up from the Pit. He is waiting to hold you close and draw you near. Let go of all the things that you’re holding on to that keep you from holding on to God. He is here: reach out for Him.
Blessings,
Kristen
…But that’s not deep enough. At the end of the day when you’ve left the judging eyes and when there’s no expectation for you to perform in a certain way, who are you? When you take off the uniform, when you put down the instrument, when you’re not at family dinner: who are you?
“Identity: the state or fact of remaining the same one or ones, as under varying aspects or conditions” (dictionary.com). Identity is who you are despite all of the variants in your life. You can “be” and do a million different things, but only one thing can truly define you. What holds your identity?
“But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:11-15)
Moses was conflicted. He was given a difficult task, and he obviously doubted his ability to accomplish what God asked. His first question to God, “Who am I?” God simply answers, “I will be with you.” That is enough. Period. God knows there’s no real need apart from His power. But Moses continues, “What if they ask for a name?!” At this point, Moses was looking for any excuse to get out of his most important role. I can imagine God being pretty fed up at this point, which is why I believe He might have yelled from inside that burning bush. When I text or facebook, I use all-caps to signify raising my voice. I’m not going to claim that Moses, as the author of Exodus was trying to signify the same thing when he capitalized God’s response, but it is likely that God wanted to make this point clear.
“I AM WHO I AM.” There is no better way to define Him, because He is the defining one. He is the definition, the true identity. Everyone else is identified through and in Him. Whether we want to recognize that or not, God is our Creator. He holds our very being without us knowing it most of the time. Or maybe we do know it, but we just deny it.
We seek the things of this world to define us, because those things immediately satisfy us. They are tangible. We want to feel, touch, see. If we all had a yelling burning bush experience, then maybe we wouldn’t use our friends, sports, family, or school to define us. Maybe then we would turn away from the things that continue to hurt us. No love is like the love of our Father. It is true Love: unconditional, through and through. Not dependent on what we can do or be. It just is. God just is. Nothing can move or shake or change Him. He will always be constant, always be faithful, always be there.
So I ask this question again: “Who are you?” Will you continue to seek the fleeting things of this world to define you? Is it worth it? Is it worth the pain, when you realize that all these things will fade and fail? God is here now and He is waiting patiently for you to call on Him. He is waiting to pick you up from the Pit. He is waiting to hold you close and draw you near. Let go of all the things that you’re holding on to that keep you from holding on to God. He is here: reach out for Him.
Blessings,
Kristen
