Thursday ThirstQuencher
October 16, 2008
"Who am I that you would love me so gently
Who am I that you would recognize my name
Lord, who am I that you would speak to me so softly
Conversation with the Lord Most High
Who am I?"
-Watermark
In my college dorm we had a tradition called "Pray Naked." Before you become overly disturbed, let me explain the principle. Once a week, the RAs on our floor would take prayer requests and type them up. They would then be laminated and posted in the communal showers. It was about taking a few minutes at the start of each day to turn something routine into something apart from ones' self. I took inspiration from this practice and I duplicated and laminated Psalm 139 in it's entirety. I posted it in the shower stalls of my dorm and read it each morning as a reminder of how thoroughly God loves me. Even now, years later, when I begin to question who it is that I am, I turn to this passage of scripture.
The sin that I commit again and again is the sin of unbelief. I believe God's promises for others. I believe who it is that God tells me He is. But I don't always believe who it is that God tells me I am. He tells me (and you) that I am His creation, His treasure, His very heart. Understanding our identity in Christ is absolutely essential to living the victorious Christian life.
When I think about the word "victory" I define it as "winning" but a few months ago my pastor offered a definition that clarified things for me and set me on a path to living the victorious Christian life. Victory is that inner peace of mind and an inner confidence that overcomes discouragement or disappoint to prosper the knowledge that God is in control.
1 John 5:4 tells us that "everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith." Our identity in Christ says that we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37.) We are reconciled to God (Romans 5:11.) We are not condemned by God (Romans 8:1.) We are justified (Romans 5:1.) We are sanctified (Hebrews 2:11.) We are firmly rooted and built up in Christ (Colossians 2:7.) We are born of God and the evil one cannot touch us (1 John 5:18.) We cannot be seperated from the love of God (Romans 8:35.) We are God's workmanship (Ephesians 2:10.)
In Psalm 8 David asks two questions: "What is man that you are mindful of Him?" and "Who is man that you would visit him?" The word "visit" in this text is translated as "to take inventory." Our identity in Christ is that God loves us so completely that he fashions each of us by hand. He perceives our thoughts and knows every word that we will speak before it is spoken. He knows the number of hairs on our head. He takes inventory of us because we are His and He loves us despite our insecurities and imperfections, our doubts and deeds. And when we love God back He has the power to change our priorities and turn our temptations. Acts 8:1 says, "You shall recieve power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." Living the victorious Christian life means that we are called to do more than just survive. We are called the thrive.
Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Melon University, is dying of pancreatic cancer. He is a husband and a father of three young children. He is only 47 years old. During His final lecture at Carnegie Melon, he offered this advice to His students: "You have to decide early on in life whether you are a Tigger or an Eeyore." A Tigger is bouncy and fun. Tiggers have a positive outlook on life. They possess an energetic, "Yes, I Can!" mentality. Eeyores sit on the sidelines. They have low self esteem and a pessamistic attitude. They prosper a "Woe is me" system of thought. If we believe God when He tells us who we are in Him, we should all be Tiggers. If we are in Christ, we are triumphant! 2 Corinthians 2:14 says, "Thanks be to God who always leads us to triumph in Christ."
I am not a finished work. None of us are. And I find it easy to fall into old patterns of behavior and doubt myself and my Creator. But I have been given great and precious promises by God (2 Peter 1:4.) And if you are a believer, so have you. All that I have to do is trust in His promises and love Him with all of my heart. Joshua 24:15 says, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve." Today is all we have and today I choose to live a life a victory, unhampered by circumstance.
So, are you a Tigger or an Eeyore? Do you see the wonders that God has surrounded you with or do you see the one thing that is out of place? Which one today will you serve...the God who has it all in control or the need to control it all?