Discovering Who We Are

by

Pastor B.J. Knefley

Do you ever question who you are? Do you want to be someone different? Not happy with you? Frustrated with life and your place in it? Expressions like “If only” dot your vocabulary? Or maybe it’s, “Some day I’m….” Does any of this sound familiar?

The Apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh. What specifically that was we do not know, but he did not want it, and he asked God to remove it. God’s response was to say that His grace was sufficient. In other words, God was saying “trust me.”  If you were Paul, how would you have responded? Would you feel satisfied, or would you want more? More in the sense that you want something to change right now, not some time in the future. I mean, it’s great to trust and all of that but I am hurting right now, in this moment. It is in this moment that I want fixed. But God comes back with the idea of trusting Him in the circumstances. Yeah, I would probably want more.

Part of discovering who we are requires honesty. Admitting our struggles, our belief about ourselves and admitting that is some of those first steps. The point is, many do not like themselves to begin with and they’re looking for something to like. Rather than finding ways to celebrate their uniqueness, they are trying to find ways to be different. Interestingly, God loves each of us just the way we are. We do not have to become something for God to love us. This point alone is often one that people struggle with. I wonder why?

Perhaps the starting point for discovering who we are needs to start with God and what He says about us. If God cannot lie, then everything He says about us must be true. We need to find a way to battle the lies we believe about ourselves and start applying God’s truth. To do that we will need to quiet the accusing voice in our head and tune our ears to hear His small voice. You might be surprised by what you’ll learn. Think about it.