Who Am I?

As I listened to the service on Sunday, these words hit home with me.  The pastor stated that "there is no true understanding of who you are without first understanding who God is."

Christmas is the most wonderful season to discover God.  If there was no God, there would be no Christmas.  Christmas is a time to explore God's great story.  The story of who He is and what He has promised me.  The hope that He gives me to understand "who I am".

The beginning of God begins in the book of Genesis.  In the beginning, God created....light and darkness; sky and water; land and sea; sun, moon & stars; fish and birds and animals and man.  God felt good about His creation.

We are formed in God's image.  The reflections of His glory.  How am I using my creativity, my speech and self-determination?  Am I glorifying God?  How is my character?  Am I reflecting love, patience, forgiveness, kindness and faithfulness?

God saw what He had created and He was happy.  God was pleased in how He made me.  I need to continue to remember that He made me for a good reason and that I am valuable to Him.

God had the perfect life for me, but in "the beginning, man decided to question God and make his own decisions".  Because of man's disobedience, God was sad.  God could not allow man to get away with sinning.  Due to Adam and Eve's sinful nature, man has inherited the sinful nature.  Adam and Eve broke their relationship with God.  Because of this broken relationship with God, they became self-conscious, they tried to excuse and defend themselves, and they began to doubt themselves and had many more obstacles in their lives.

Wow!  At times, that sounds like me.

But God, who is a loving God, found mercy and promised to send His son to save me from the sins of the world.  With the birth of Jesus, came the hope that we are all looking for.  With the birth of Jesus, came Christmas.

I need to remember these five thoughts of God:

1.  God wants me to know Him and to believe in Him.  Isaiah 43:10, "I chose you to be my servant, so that you would know me and believe in me and understand that I am the only God."
2.  God wants me to glorify Him.  Isaiah 43:7, "They are my own people, and I created them to bring me glory."
3.  God wants me to find satisfaction in Him.  Isaiah 55:2, "Why spend money on what does not satisfy?  Why spend your wages and still be hungry?  Listen to me and do what I say and you will enjoy the best food of all."
4.  God wants me to experience His peace.  Isaiah 48:12, ""Listen to me, Israel, the people I have called!  I am God, the first, the last, and the only God!"
5.  God wants me to enjoy His presence.  Isaiah 43:1-3, "Do not be afraid--I will save you.  I have called you by name--you are mine.  When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you.  When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you.  For I am the Lord your God, the holy God of Israel, who saves you."

I just need to remember that all my questions about myself, about life, who am I?, are all found in the Word, the Bible.

As I dive into the Word and hear the truth, may I discover "Who I Am".

I sometimes make life difficult by not realizing that the answers that I am looking for are right before me.

This Holiday Season, may you take the time, to be quiet, watch the flickering of the lights on your tree and listen as He whispers and speaks the truth of who you are!