A False Identity

Read: Exodus 3:1–4:17

Moses pleaded with the LORD, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” Exodus 4:10

IN WORD

Telling an omniscient God that He doesn’t have all the information is usually a bad idea. So it was with Moses, who was pretty sure God had forgotten about his lack of eloquence or his difficulty as an adopted Egyptian-speaking Hebrew. God, of course, had to rearrange Moses’ perception of his Lord and also of himself. Moses didn’t understand his own identity.

We don’t either. Our identity is not made up of the ideas we have formed over the years; it’s made up of whatever God says about us. If He says we are His children, then we are, whether we feel like it or not. When He says we are precious to Him, then we are, even if we don’t consider ourselves very precious. And when He calls us to a task, the task is suited for us perfectly, whether we imagine that it fits our gifts or not. Whatever God says of us, that’s who we are.

When you came to Christ, you gave yourself back to God, acknowledging His right to your life. Have you ever considered that with all the rights you defer to Him, you also are pleasantly obligated to give up your own self-perception? In other words, you don’t really have the right to tell God how ill-fitted you are for your calling, as Moses did, or even how short you will fall of His glory. If God says you are His beloved child, seated with Him in heavenly places, treasured as a specimen of His redemption and glory, cleansed of all sin, and gifted for divine works, you have no business contradicting Him.

IN DEED

Think of how many times your assessment of yourself contradicts God. Read through Scripture with an eye for His description of the redeemed, and then embrace that description. Don’t do what Moses did, telling God that your self-perception is more accurate. What God says about you is always true. Believe it.

ADDITIONAL READING: Philippians 4:13

God is Truth. Who in his right mind would contradict Him?

ANONYMOUS