Originally posted on March 23, 2020
Who Are You?
What is it that defines you? When we meet someone new, the first thing we usually ask is “What do you do?”. Knowing someone’s job gives you some understanding about that person. When you find out that Heath Morton is a meteorologist, things suddenly make sense a little more. You stop wondering if you went to school together or if he knows someone you know. You finally realize he looks familiar because you have seen him on the news. It is confusing when you find out that Barry Wilson works in conservation and all his Facebook photos are hunting and fishing. Our jobs tell us something but not everything. What someone does for a job doesn’t tell us who they are. It doesn’t tell us about their character, passions or fears.
It is easy to allow ourselves to become defined by what we do. I am a teacher, a doctor, a geologist or an engineer. Over the last few weeks, for many of us, we have had all these things stripped away that used to define us. This creates an uneasiness. It makes us restless.
The world situation has forced us into simplicity. We can’t do as much. We can’t go as much. This really creates some space to ask the question “Who am I?”, and even more importantly, “Who do I want to become?”.
Becoming takes work. Becoming takes courage. Becoming takes time. Time has always been the enemy of becoming and now we have been given the gift of time. Time that we can direct towards the process of becoming, becoming a better version of ourselves, becoming what God wants us to be, becoming more like Him.
Charles Stanley says, “We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power and strength.”
Matthew 14:23 says “After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.”
Psalm 46:10 says “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Find some new and creative ways to get in the presence of God. Drink deeply from Him and His word. Worship Him. Sit quietly before Him. Make room in your heart, mind and soul for Him to move, for Him to help you become.
Ephesians 3:16-19 says “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Who should I become? Someone strengthened by His spirit. A place where Christ dwells. I should be rooted in love. Someone who is connected to God’s people. I should be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. These are the things that should define me. What a to-do list!! Thank goodness we have a little extra time on our hands.
Matt Adams
