Who Am I?

Did you hear the story about the man everyone thought had been a major league baseball player? It turns out that it was all a lie. For over twenty years, this man had made his family believe that he was a former baseball player...but it was all a ruse...

I wonder: in what ways do we pretend to be what we're not because it's what people expect out of us, and we don't want to disappoint? How many times have we acquiesced to the opinions and feelings of others because we "don't want to ruffle feathers," but as a result we have clipped our own wings? How often do we take the easy way out because we resist making the effort, we don't want conflict, or we just believe that what we think or believe is not important?

In the Book of Joshua, the people of Israel were without Moses. Moses had died and the people stood at the banks of the Jordan. The Promised Land. What they traveled forty years to find. God had delivered on his promises. He had provided manna in the wilderness. He had guided them by day and by night. His presence was visible and mightily available. But still, at the verge of the promises revealed...they wait. God commands them to go. The words of Joshua chapter one contain the phrase "be strong and courageous" several times. Just as God had been with Moses, he would be with them. He will be with us. He will be with you. He loves you as you are. In the daunting face of uncertainty, in the knocking knees of fear, in the twisted mind of doubt, and in the troubled heart of pain, remember who claims you. God. As he commands Joshua, the people of the promise, and you and me: "Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).

In the name of Christ, you belong to God. Don't forget that. When the temptation comes to doubt and resist your place in this world, remember who and whose you are. And remember it's all because of God's amazing grace!