Do You Know Who You Are?

Acts 27: 20 - 26, Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.' Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. NKJV

Every person comes into the world with a void in their heart. Consequently, we set out early in life looking for someone or something to fill the emptiness. Perhaps you have sought to discover who you are by entering relationships, but later found that they didn't meet the need. Some have sought to fill this mysterious void with fortune and fame. However, they realized that neither came close to answering the nagging question of who they are. Let's look at someone from the Bible that will help us in our search to be made complete.

In Genesis 3, the serpent approached Eve and enticed her to discover her true identity by committing sin against her Creator. Satan found or uncovered a void in Eve that, at first, she may not have even realized was in her heart. Too many times, humans discover they have a need long before they have the opportunity to know how to fill the void, and it can lead them into making destructive choices. Eve is a prime example of what happens when people want "good" things, but choose wrong ways to acquire them.

Satan awoke a need or desire in Eve to be like God, and then he exploited her ignorance and gullibility in order to seduce her into sinning against the Lord, in an attempt to be like God. She had a legitimate need in her heart that began as a godly one; nevertheless, Satan perverted it and captured her attention before she knew the truth. He introduced her to a way of "filling that void" apart from God's help. Someone might be thinking, "What is so wrong with her desiring to be like God and trying to find it on her own? Didn't God give her freewill to do just that?" To answer those questions let's look deeper into what happened in Eve's life after she sought to become like her Creator and Father through sin. The result of Eve seeking to fill the void in her heart through her own acts of sin caused her great sorrow and emotional anguish in her heart and life (Genesis 3: 16). Have you ever wondered why people hold onto people and things that cause them pain? It is because they don't want to experience an even greater pain called "rejection."

Did you know that Satan loves to rob us by preying on the ignorance that we have concerning our "spiritual identity"? Why does Satan seek to awaken desires in our hearts that begin innocently, but quickly turn into a lifestyle that is fraught with pain and rejection? He wants us to ignore God's truth and His guidance, so that he can lead us on a destructive path FULL of pain, sorrow, and rejection. You see; rejection is the opposite of affirmation, which is exactly what Eve was after when she considered eating the forbidden fruit. What do you do when you have a need or void, and everything you do only makes life worse?

Because Eve had chosen to become like God by filling the void in her heart apart from going to God, Satan led her to make decisions that would only cause her heartache, regret, and sorrow of heart. When we fill the void in our hearts with "wrong people and things" it just causes pain. When we hold onto that pain, instead of turning our lives over to the Lord, the enemy continues to exploit the pain and causes us to make "poor or wrong" decisions, which then exacerbates the dysfunction and confusion.

If we seek to fill the need in our hearts, which is to be affirmed by our Creator, without turning to God, then we will live in bondage to the pain of rejection. God doesn't want anyone to live in bondage. It was because of sin that He sent Jesus to earth to die on our behalf. Instead of condemning us for the sin in our hearts, God through Christ has chosen to forgive us and ACCEPT us in Christ. You and I don't have to turn to the world, bad relationships, or bondage in order to find acceptance. It's free, and it's ours, if we will only accept it. Will you let me know how this word has ministered to you today? You can contact me at pastorasadockery@whcnorth.org

Complete In Christ,
Pastor Asa Dockery