Who Am I?

We humans can be pretty full of ourselves sometimes.  Whether you look at the “examples” which come to us from Hollywood or from Washington, there seems to be an abundance of those who regard themselves quite highly.  Sometimes, I’m right there with them on those days when I get a little too full of myself.  But the opposite is much more close to the truth.

“I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind”

Casting Crowns again today.  Have you figured out yet that these guys are at the top of my list for inspirational words and music?  The first time I heard of this song “Who Am I?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzCmwETeZXY) was during a Kairos Prison Ministry weekends. One of my new friends at the facility requested this from our music team and it immediately became a favorite of mine.

I’ve often thought about how hard it must be for famous people, especially rock stars, to keep their heads screwed on straight when faced with so many people filling them up with, well, themselves.  When you are standing on a stage, with thousands…tens of thousands…cheering, screaming and almost worshiping you, its hard not to get a big head.  But at the end of the day, just like you and me, they are eventually alone and in a quiet spot with their thoughts, yearnings and fears.

“Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt”

Of all the things that can get in the way of our relationship with God, our ego can often be the biggest obstacle.  We consider ourselves before considering others, before considering Him.  But He calls us to more.

“Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are”

But here’s the thing; God does think we are awesome.  He sees the potential in each of us and knows that He has knitted together an amazing creation.  In Psalm 139:14, we read “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”  It took me a long time to figure out that what the Psalmist is saying here is that I am an amazing child of God’s creation.  You are awesome.  We should be in awe at what God has put together in the potential of what is in us.  However, it is Him, not us, that makes this so.  And it is Jesus Christ’s sacrifice that makes it possible for us to be eternally reconciled to our Heavenly Father.

“Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours”

So, can I walk the tightrope? Can I thread the needle of setting myself aside and recognizing that God is in control, while focusing on the potential for amazing things that He has placed in me?  God, I know I can, because I am yours.