Who are you? I’m not talking about your name, your earthly identity, what your friends might call you or even what appears on your driver’s license or school ID card. I’m talking about the REALyou – the person that only God truly knows – the you that you may not even realize is really you! Deep, huh? Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” In Psalm 139, King David wrote, “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.” In verse 23, David goes on to say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts”. He just admitted something amazing – by that prayer, he basically said, “God, I don’t know me like you know me.”
We all use mirrors to help us get ready in the morning. Have you ever left the house thinking you looked a certain way, but when you looked in a mirror at your destination you noticed a hair (or several) out of place, food in your teeth or some other surprise flaw in your appearance? I sure have! How did we notice these things? A mirror or some “kind” soul showed us the truth.
You see, we don’t know ourselves as well as we think we do so we need a mirror – something or someone – to show us the truth. Many times God has used His Word, circumstances, people and other things to help me see problems or areas of concern in my own heart. A. W. Tozer wrote about 7 rules for self discovery, and I’ve phrased them as questions for you below. If you will ask God to help you see the “real” you (as David did in Psalm 139) and answer these questions honestly, you may be surprised by who you really are and what you really love – I was!
- What do you want most?
- What do you think about most?
- How do you use your money?
- What do you do with your free time?
- Who do you enjoy spending time with?
- Who and what do you admire?
- What do you laugh at or find humorous?
If you answered honestly, you now have an accurate assessment of who you really are and where your heart and affections truly lie. May we all make the necessary changes in our lives so we can be sure that God is pleased with who and what we love.
“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” –Revelation 2:4
So… Who are you? Really?