Who Am I?

Back in December, Melissa and I attended a concert in downtown St. Louis. There were three performers/bands there: Steven Curtis Chapman, Chris Tomlin, and Casting Crowns. Going in, I was really excited about the first two and I really didn’t know anything about Casting Crowns.

I’m not sure if any of you have experienced this, but sometimes God will completely take me by surprise. It doesn’t happen to me very often, but every now and again, his Spirit will move in my heart in a very unexpected way. On this particular night, when Casting Crowns took the stage and begun plugging through their set of six or seven songs, God took me by surprise.

They got to a particular song in their set that I had never heard before and it immediately brought tears to my eyes. The song, called ‘Who Am I?’, brilliantly captured in word and in music what I have felt about God for many years now. Why would the soveriegn Creator God want to have anything to do with me? I would have to be one of His least impressive creations. Next to the incredibly vast mountain ranges and oceans… I am like a grain of sand. Next to the stars or a sunrise… I am ugly. Even next to other human beings… I am unimpressive, average, mediocre, and timid…

Sometimes life gets so busy and I get so preoccupied with detail type things… I lose sight of the bigger truths. And so often, it’s the bigger truths that I NEED to be focused on in order to be a successful pastor, father, or husband… and it’s those bigger truths that would encourage me to continue working hard despite discouragement. God graciously reminded me of something on this December night that I really needed to recall:

He loves me. He always has. He always will. His love for me isn’t based on what I’ve done for him. He will love me regardless of church statistics and public opinion. He will love me regardless of how much I weigh or of how selfish I can be…. He will even love me regardless of whether I choose to love Him back. The one lyric that spoke to me the most on this particular night was this one:

"Not because of who I am… but because of what You’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve done… but because of who You are."

What an amazing truth! God almighty loves me… inperfections and all. He wants me to know Him, even though I could never hope to understand Him completely. He wants to be in a love relationship with me, even though He knows that I will sometimes make decisions that betray His love or take advantage of His love. He loves me, despite what I can offer Him. He loves ME. HE loves me. I’m thankful for the reminder.


Here are the lyrics to the song: ‘Who Am I?” by the band Casting Crowns. I hope they speak to you as much as they spoke to me.

“Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You Are!

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am YoursI am Yours”