Know Who You Are

Jeremiah 1:5

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

From these two verses, we can see that God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows us before we were even born, and he knows how our story will end. He knows our beginning and our ending, so of course He knows the story that is in between it too.

He knows what kind of mistakes we will make and He knows what sins we will fall into. Sometimes it makes me wonder, if God knows we might grow up into sinners, into liars, into drunkards, into drug addicts, then why does He still create us? Why would He want to populate the world with this sinful nature?

Because God doesn’t look at our faults, He sees the talents and gifts in us that are unique and special to each individual.

Psalm 139:14

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

What is it that we need to know ‘full well’? The fact that we are fearfully and wonderfully made; no one is created the same. Many of us don’t realize what we are capable of and sees our own presence as the lonely dust among the great Sahara desert. It is the devil’s whisper that tells you that you worthless, useless, unoriginal, and ordinary. But that is NOT true! Don’t listen to the sly enemy. Cause if you give in to those lies, you are letting the enemy take you further and further away from the potential that God sees in you.

1. Be Aware of Who You Are

Understand that no two people are created the same. Even twins; they may look similar, but their personalities and talents are different. When God created us, He didn’t play copy paste. He even knows how many hair strands we have on our hair. Truly, our God is a God of detail. And for ever single one of us, He has given us specific talents, hobbies, and strengths.

1 Corinthians 12:14-18

Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

What God has chosen for us is specific to every individual.  And it is not by mistake, because it is just as he wanted it to be. We need to realize where we are; a unique place that is specifically selected just for us.

2. Accept What You Can Do

The devil likes to shift our focus from what we can do to what we can not do. Don’t give in. Don’t look at what you don’t have, but look at what you do have. The devil is gleeful whenever we are envious of other people. The truth is, you will never be satisfied if you look at other people’s life.

Someone with no vehicle is jealous of someone with a bike. Someone with a bike is jealous of someone with a motorcycle. Someone with a motorcycle is jealous of someone with a cra. Somemone with a car is jealous of someone with a private jet. And the person in the private jet just wishes she could take a relaxing walk. The cycle continues; you will never be satisfied with your life until you choose to be content with what you have.

Maybe we are envious of others, but there are other people who are envious of us too. Maybe because we are so used to our talents and it is fairly easy for us to do, we start to take it for granted. Even when you think your talent might be small or useless. Don’t ever underestimate your talent, because not everyone can do what you do.

Fun fact! Did you know that the pinky toe, the smallest body part that is often overlooked and deemed is useless, is actually the body part that keeps our entire body balanced? Without that small ‘useless’ pinky toe, we wouldn’t even be able to walk straight. So don’t take anything for granted. The smallest things can make the biggest impact.

3. Adapt/Apply it In Your Life

Matthew 5:14-16

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

The talents given to us aren’t to benefit ourselves; it’s to benefit others so we can lead them to glorify our Father in heaven.

Do you remember the parable of the talents? (Read Matthew 25 if you don’t). Reading that, I was so confused why the man was so angry with the servant who did not multiply the one talent. Though he may not have gained anything, he didn’t lose it either. So why was he consumed in so much anger and even curse the servant as a lazy and wicked servant?

The answer lies in this verse:

Matthew 25:18

But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

In Matthew 5:15, the Bible says “do not light a lamp and put it under a bowl.” Basically it translates to: Do not put it in a place that can’t be seen. Now what did the third servant do? Put it in a place where no one can see it.  How can you be a blessing when no one can see it?

There are times when we might be scared because we know that there are other people who can do what we do, but far better than us. So what’s the point of us doing it? Again, don’t compare yourself with other people. If you really want to compare, then compare it to yourself. Are you better compared to “you” a year ago?

For example, I love music and I love to sing. But I still sing offtune a lot and am lacking in so many aspects. Does it mean I give up and throw away my passion? No. I keep practicing. I learn how to harmonize. I learn how to play musical instruments. I learn how to write songs. Does this makes me the best of the best? No. I know I won’t ever surpass Beyonce or Adele, but at least I know I am improving. Today, I am a better version of myself compared to who I was a year ago.

Your talent is like a seed. You start of small, but it doesn’t mean it will stay a seed forever. If you give it water and nurture it, it will eventually grow into a tree. It will bear fruit that other people can enjoy. Same with our talents. Because in the end, the talent is not to benefit ourselves, but to benefit others.

So everything seems like it has a happy ending now, but enter the devil, ready with those malicious lies up his sleeves. This time it will say, “You say you wanna bless a lot of people, bless a whole nation… But only a few people benefit from your talent. What a hypcocrite.”

This is very true for me as I have experienced this not so long ago. Aside from music, I LOVE to write fictional stories that contains a good moral message. One of my stories only got about 30 readers eventhough I think it has a good message. I couldn’t help but to compare it to another story that is about free sex, rape, drugs, and all those stuff, yet it has about 3000 subscribers. So I asked God, why? This is unfair. And His answer amazed me:

It is better to impact one person’s life to be better, rather than have a thousand people enjoy it and forget it the next day.

Back to my story, I took a peek at the comment section of the stories whereby readers can leave their impression. The story with 3000 subscribers wrote things like “this is awesome!” “So cool! I love it!” Yes, very positive and there is nothing wrong with those comments. But among the 30 readers I have, they left comments too. “This story is really inspirational and I feel like I can learn so much from it.” “I was about to give up on my passion, but this helped me to keep pursuing.” “I was having such a bad and stressful day, but this helped put a smile on my face.”

Trust me when I say that having one person tell you you have inspired them,  it is worth so much more than a thousand people saying that what you’re doing is cool. In the end, we want to influence others, so do not be bothered by the number. If God wants someone to benefit or be blessed with the things you do, then trust that He wil lead the person to you. God will give you the right audience. I am not boasting about my stories, because I wrote them for Him, to glorify Him, and to benefit others. It is thanks to Him I can write.

So don’t listen to the devil’s lies. You need to be aware of who you really are, accept what you can do, and apply it in your life. Be secure with yourself. You never know when you happen to inspire others with the things you do. God created you to be you, and not anyone else. Know who you are and what you can do.

Then, you will unlock the potential that God has placed in you all along.