Who am I? That is the question culture is asking. Our world asks this question and, being led by emotions, ends up in all sorts of nonsensical places.
There are some today that you look in the proverbial mirror and see all your past decisions and we think way too low of ourselves. Some of us think way too highly of ourselves. You look at your past, you look at your performance, you look at your problems. Then culture comes alongside and gives you a bunch of mixed messages.
Psalm 8 makes it clear that you will never have great clarity on who you are, until you know who God is.
It takes you from apathy to passion in your worship; it takes you from insecurity about what other people think about you, to security because now you know what God thinks of you.
If you don’t know who you are, it’s really hard to be a healthy person. Let alone, have healthy relationships. Psalm 8 will help us have a biblical and accurate understanding of who you are.
Psalm 8, the first four verses are about the majesty of God and the last verses are about the fact I’m not God.
Two Components that will bring clarity to your identity
- God is fantastically big
Psalm 8:1, “Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth! You have covered the heavens with your majesty.”
“Lord” is God’s covenant name. This is the way God introduces Himself to Moses. It is also a declaration that He is unchanging, unending, always present, always God, always in control, no rivals, self-sufficient, timeless, Savior, and center of everything.
Psalm 8:2, “From the mouths of infants and nursing babies, you have established a stronghold on account of your adversaries in order to silence the enemy and the avenger.”
When you don’t know what a verse means, either go to another verse, or sit in what you do know. Here’s 2 things you can know: number one, God’s strength is evident in the mouth of babies. When a baby is born you just know there is a God. Babies are miracles of God. Number two, somehow “silence the enemy and the avenger” possibly alludes to baby Jesus.
Psalm 8:3, “When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place,”
The artistry of God! There are 9600 stars we can see with the naked eye. Isaiah 40:26 says that God knows them all by name.
I want you to embrace the truth that you are small compared to our Magnificent Lord. We need to resign as the boss of our lives. Jesus must be Lord.
Psalm 8:4, “what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him?”
We must see ourselves in context. I must see God for who He is: the majestic one, the magnificent one, the holy One. So many people are dissatisfied with life because they have tried to squeeze God into a small corner of your life. That’s not how it works. That’s not how you were designed.
Getting clarity on ourselves begins by seeing God as fantastically big, awesome, majestic, and sovereign.
There is a God shaped whole in your life that won’t ever be filled with possessions, status, or coins. All those things are awesome as gifts from our Father, but God’s good gifts flipped on their heads becomes idols.
How do we respond to a good God? We respond in worship. Worship is maximization of Jesus, minimization of self.
- I will get clarity on mi identity, when I see how small I am
Psalm 8:5, “You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor.”
This verse is talking about the person next to you, your neighbor, your friends, your relatives. Humans are created in the image of God, and this changes everything. It changes how you see people, how you view abortion, how you see yourself, and how you see your circumstances.
What does “being created in His image” mean?
it means that you have the ability to relate to God and to reflect Him to others. Mankind is the crown jewel of creation. We are made in His image. Nothing else under heaven can say that. You have value
Psalm 8:6-9, “You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea that pass through the currents of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!
These verses explain our purpose. We are to live on mission and tell people about Jesus. God has made you in His image. He created you and then died on a cross for you because He loves you.
Pastor Chris Williams
To learn more about Pastor Chris and his teaching, visit us on the web at fcfamily.org and make sure you subscribe to receive these weekly encouragements in your inbox.
