"Who You Say I Am"

Hillsong wrote a song called, "Who You Say I Am"


My favorite part of the song is the bridge.....

"I am chosen. Not forsaken.
I am who you say I am.
You are for me.
Not against me.
I am who you say I am.
I am who you say I am."


But this is hard to believe right? As humans we make mistakes. We fall short of the expectations of others and of our own expectations.

But God values you. He doesn't just love you He likes everything about you.

I can be confident in who I am because I know who my heavenly Father is.

To look at this a little deeper we need to look at an amazing Old Testament Story: The story of Gideon.

The Story of Gideon 

In Judges 6, we find the Israelites doing evil in the Lord's sight. This phrase usually means they forget the goodness of God. They find their significance in things outside of God. We continue to do this today. Many find their worth in their relationships while others find their worth in their job. But these things can change in a moment.

That person you love could cheat on you, could divorce you, could die.
That job you love so much... well you might get fired, you might not love it any more, or it might get replace with technology.

That thing you love so much can and might let you down. Im not saying this to be a "downer" or say I don't do the same exact thing but to warn us to lean into the presence of God as our sole treasure and worship Him instead of false idols that promise to bring life but leave us empty.


After almost dying of starvation, God's people return to Him. SAVE US!!!! We are sorry. Like a child that is only sorry after they are caught Israel returns to her mother. But God is soooooo Good! Even when our motives are impure He welcomes us back 100%. Yes! You have always been my child.


But God works through people. And He chose Gideon. Gideon doesn't think he is worthy.

"How can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!"

He said, "I cant do it!"

And to that the Angel says AMEN! But God can do it through you!


Listen to what the Angel says to Gideon, "Mighty Hero, the Lord is with you!"


I think you have the wrong person. Mary, the Mother of our Lord, probably thought a similar thing years later. "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." Excuse me. I am a virgin. I am poor. I am 12 years old..... I am not ready!!!!!!!!


Can God use you? Yes! Can God chose you to do amazing things? Yes


The first step is to remember who He calls you to be!

We look at our past failures or future worries to define who we are. But God doesn't do that. He defines you by who you truly are: A child. His child. His beloved Child.

And He declared Gideon a "Mighty Warrior"
And told Mary she was "Highly favored"

He looks at you and says, "Don't be a worrier, be a warrior."

Who does God call you? Ask Him. Spend 5 mins in silence. Ask him to reveal his love toward you. What does his face look like when he looks at you. Do you think he is disappointed or proud?

Conclusion

St Paul wrote, "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16)

Does this verse mean if I sin God is disappointed in me? No.

My son is learning to walk. He has not mastered it yet but he desires to run so badly. But He needs to learn to walk first. He will take a step and a half and fall down. But I am right there when he falls. Helping him up. Allowing him to grab onto my pant leg as we walk.

I believe this is a perfect picture for our Christian Walk. God has given us his spirit because He knew if we try to walk on our strength we would fall flat on our face and get discouraged.

But God says, "Child, I love you. Follow me. Believe in me. But also believe in yourself. Believe that me in you is enough to change everything."



Side Bar: I don't think I made it far enough through Gideon so there might be a part 2 to this blog.