“‘Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached Me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead My people Israel out of Egypt.’ But Moses protested to God, ‘Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?'” (Exodus 3:9-11).

When God appeared to Moses and spoke to him from a flaming bush, Moses was on the run as a fugitive from Egypt; he was hiding out on the far side of the desert near Horeb, the mountain of God. What do you do when your past causes you to run right smack into the presence of God? You answer the call!

Just imagine the shock of seeing a bush on fire, but not consumed by the flames! Now imagine you hear the voice of God speaking from the bush—and if that isn’t enough to make you faint, the Lord tells you to go to Egypt and set His people free. Like Moses, I would be asking the same question, “Who am I?” Moses was lost; he didn’t know his spiritual identity.

The Bible teaches us muc about the subject of being lost. Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost. Just as Moses asked the Lord that very important question, “Who am I?” All Christians must ask God that same question if we’re going to fulfill the calling of God on our lives. Back in the beginning, when man first sinned, we lost our spiritual identity. We began to identity with the creation more so than our Creator. Moses struggled to hear the plan of God, not because he couldn’t hear, but because he didn’t know who he was. All Moses could remember was his past and how Egypt was his enemy—forhe had committed a murder. When God reassured him that the king who had pursued him was dead, He then told Moses the plan to deliver the people of God from their bondage.

It’s vitally important for us to understand that not everyone that God called lived a perfect life. Just look at Saul of Tarsus; he murdered Christians in the early church. He was converted on the road to Damascus and became the Apostle Paul. If we’re going to step out and fulfill God’s calling on our lives, we must get to know the One who has called us first. He is our new identity. So if God has revealed to you His plan and told you to go back to the place that He has brought you out of and represent Him, you must first ask the Lord, “Who am I?” If not, the enemy will keep throwing your past at you; he will use your mistakes, sins, and failures to hold you back from obeying God.

When we look at the sure success of Jesus’ ministry and how He was able to endure such horrendous suffering in order to complete God’s will on the earth, we see an excellent example of someone who knew who they were in the Spirit. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he told Jesus to do something to prove His real identity. Because Jesus knew “full well” His identity, the seduction of Satan’s provocations didn’t move Jesus at all. Jesus knew that He was the Son of God, and He didn’t have to prove anything to Satan. When we truly know our spiritual identity through an intimate relationship with the Father, we won’t be moved to prove our calling to man. We won’t feel the need to please man when we know who we are in Christ. Like Moses, we won’t run from our calling, but we will face it boldly through our relationship with God.

Your parents gave you a name when you were born, but when you answer the call of God on your life, He will give you a new identity. There is great freedom in answering the call of God. Moses’ past no longer had a hold on his heart and life. He fled Egypt a fugitive and in bondage, but he returned to Egypt as a deliverer of the people of God. Who is God sending you to as their deliverer?

—submitted by Asa Dockery, US