I
am excited to introduce my granddaughter, Rachel Smith, college student at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, as my guest blogger. This is her first blog, and her goal for blogging is to encourage others and to proclaim Jesus. I read her blog (“Who Are You?”), and she definitely has writing talent, but you can be the critic. Any comments are welcome. Here’s Rachel ~
“Who Are You?”
I woke up late this morning, and my first thought was, “Well, it could’ve been a great day.” I took a nosedive into Instagram for a quick peek, and I found a picture of a friend and me. It was a nice picture, except for the entire right half of it where I stood next to my friend, smiling. I picked myself apart. Look at how white her teeth are, her hair isn’t frizzy, my skin is textured, my nose looks crooked, and I was standing on my good side! I felt deflated. I set my phone down and walked into my bathroom where I stared into the big mirror nestled among stark white walls.
My blonde frizzy hair, textured skin, and crooked nose stared back at me. Thoughts of who I am and who I am not ran through my head as I got ready for the day. By mid-morning, I realized that just seconds after rolling out of bed, I had set the trajectory of my thoughts for the rest of the day. How could a minuscule decision cause a person to be at a loss as to how to deal with something? How can what I think in my day-to-day living have such an impact on me? Well, my friend, it does. And it will.
Not everyone shares a similar morning experience. However, I am confident that many do. It is hard. The mind is one of the most difficult things to control. Whether it is how unattractive we may feel, how unproductive we may be, how successful or unsuccessful we are, or how we measure up to a person standing next to us, we run ourselves into the ground with our thoughts. Thinking those thoughts will not make things better. If we create a mountain and try everything we can to put ourselves at the top, it just will not work. We will never feel we can achieve our goal to be accepted or to feel fulfilled or whatever the goal may be. As a result, we are left empty and unsatisfied. I have been there. I still am a lot of the time. It. is. hard. But just you wait!
There is some really (I mean really) good news in all of this. Maybe, just what if, there is someone who tells you exactly who you are? What if, now this may sound crazy, but what if that same someone knows our deepest, most vulnerable thoughts? The thoughts that fly around in our minds are as if they are free to attack any part of our identity they please. What if this someone not only identifies you, but identifies these thoughts and says, “No, you are not your thoughts. You are not your feelings. You are not what you just said you are. You are who I know you to be. And you are mine.” What if? Oh, friend, have I got some good news for you! His name is Jesus.
Who are you? This might be an unusual introductory post to ask you this question. Some of you may not know who I am! But before I introduce myself to you in proceeding posts, I want to speak life into who YOU are. So, who are you? Not according to Instagram, not to your friends, not to your spouse, or teacher, or boss, or parent. The creator of the universe, the world and everything and everyone in it is the only One who CAN truly tell us who we are. That has to hold a little weight, doesn’t it? He, God, created us so specifically. Listen to what He has to say in His perfect, holy word. The psalmist says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand – when I am awake, I am still with you.” (Psalm 139:13-18)
How amazing is this! God chose us, designed us, and purposed us as He willed. Your design is no mistake. His works are wonderful! Friend, this is who you are. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Your Creator pays great attention to detail in your makeup. I am not just speaking of the way you look. God uniquely chose your body to function a certain way, to move a certain way. He wired your brain just the way it is meant to be. He knew you before you were born. He knows who you are. Believers are His. No one can take this away from us. Our identity is found in Him. In Christ alone. Spoiler alert: your satisfaction does not come from the way you look, the accomplishments you achieve, or the good or bad things you have done. Our satisfaction comes from God.
That is all there is to it. What God says about you is the truth. We may not feel it all the time. And like me, you might struggle with your identity day-to-day. This does not change what is true. You are chosen, you are loved, and you are free. Guess what? It is not about what you and I think. It is about what God thinks. And as David proclaims in Psalm 139, “How vast is the sum of Your thoughts!” How freeing that truth is. Live in that today. Praise God that He tells us who we are so that we do not have to spend a lifetime trying to chase down who we think we are, only to find it is not true.
Okay, I am done now. Go, sit with God. Let Him give you life. Pinky promise that He is waiting for you. Waiting to tell you who you are, who you can be, and who you are meant to become.
So, who are you?