Rooster's Crow

Do you know who you are? I cannot count the number of times I’ve heard people talking about being on a journey of self-discovery – whether it is an off year between high school and college, a gap year in the middle of college, a hiatus during a mid-life crisis, or some other season of life where everything is put on hold. Then I’ve heard the other folks saying they wished they had the capability of putting life on pause to “discover” who they are. So, I ask again, have you discovered who you are?

If you have not accepted Christ as your Savior, you will not have a complete understanding of who you were created to be. You may be able to find your gifts and utilize them in productive ways, and you may even find your calling in your career path, but you will not be serving your ultimate purpose unless you are spiritually aligned with God’s plan for you. In Jeremiah 1:5, God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” The Creator had a plan and purpose for Jeremiah before he was even conceived.

But is who you are the same as the sum of your gifts and what you are supposed to be doing? People often find their identity in what they call their “calling”, regardless of whether they claim to be a believer or not – doctors, lawyers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, teachers, soldiers, linesmen, etc., etc., etc. Insert any career path, and you can find folks saying that they are living out their calling, and that the calling is who they are.

I have spent a majority of my life in this camp, identifying with the career field I was in at the time – police officer, SWAT sniper, Infantry officer. But I can definitely tell you, what you do and what your gifts are, does NOT equate WHO you are.

You are one of two versions of yourself: either the version the Devil has told you that you are, or the version that God created and intended you to be. The latter is the REAL you, but you cannot know the REAL you unless you have accepted the free gift of salvation and undergone the transformation and renewal of your mind. Then it is a fight every day to ignore the lies the Devil about yourself, and truly believing and accepting the truth of who you are.

Who does God say you are? “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph. 1:4). Similar to what we read in Jeremiah, God CHOSE us before the foundation of the world. Chose is a voluntary action; His hand was not forced, but He willingly CHOSE us.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). You are loved! “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,” (Eph. 1:7). Through the sacrifice of Jesus and His blood, you are redeemed and forgiven!

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). God the Father, God the Creator, God the King of the Universe claims you as His child. Going even farther, “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:5). This part of the passage states that we were adopted as sons.

In an era where the basic understanding of genders has been utterly twisted, the gender distinction is extremely important to understand in this passage. When Paul penned the letter to the Ephesians, daughters did not receive an inheritance; an inheritance was for the sons only. But in this passage, God is adopting ALL of us as sons, both males and females, so we all are eligible for inheritance. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no MALE and FEMALE, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).

“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29). All believers are adopted as His sons and are thereby heirs to His kingdom. “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph. 1:11).

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:13-14). You have been sealed through the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ sacrifice that allowed you to be adopted, sealed your eternal fate!

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). Workmanship is not something that just happens; it is something skillfully crafted into a masterpiece. You are not random or ordinary; you are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14).

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world” (I John 5:4a). Jesus overcame the world, which gives you the same authority and power to overcome the world. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). You were not created to simply exist or survive day to day, you were designed to be an overcomer!

The Devil does not want you to believe who you are! He wants you simply existing, trying to drag yourself out of bed, to a job that continually demands more of you, to get home to have some sense of downtime before you go to bed to do it all over the next day. But that’s not who God says you are. He says that He had plans and designs for you before you were born. That you are His son and sealed by the Holy Spirit. That His only Son died so that you could overcome this world, not so you can trudge through it like the Devil’s punching bag.

And when it seems like you are in the darkest of times, regardless of how many times the Devil tells you that you are, you are NOT ALONE. “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. HE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU OR FORSAKE YOU” (Deut. 31:6). God is always by your side, ready to grab your hand in a spit second to pick you up onto your feet.

You have to know who you are. If you do not know, you are going to believe the lies the Devil is whispering into your ear. And I use the present tense intentionally, because it is not a when, if, or will. It is an IS, because that is how he operates. If he gets you to believe his lies, then you are aligned with who he wants you to be – not a threat to his mission. But when you know who you are, because you know who God says you are, then you know you’ve got those blood bought boots to stomp the Devil’s head into the ground!!

Search the scriptures and learn who you really are. Write it down, and read it every morning and every night. Study it until it is emblazoned into your heart and mind. So, when the Devil comes whispering his lies, you can tell him out loud who you are. Not mumbling under your breath, “well God says I am…” – NO, that’s not good enough. You have to tell the Devil, “I am CHOSEN. I am LOVED. I am REDEEMED. I am FORGIVEN. I am GOD’S CHILD. I am an HEIR. I am FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY MADE. I am an OVERCOMER. I am NOT ALONE!!!” Say it with your chest! Say it with your heart! Say it with every fiber of your body, soul, and spirit!

Accept it. Believe it. Say it. Live it.

So back to where we started, do you know who you are?