CAN YOUR IDENTITY BE RESTORED?

Have you ever wondered if you can have your identity back? Maybe because of a certain situation, you became someone you are not. And now you are wondering if you will ever go back to the person you know God created you to be. Maybe you gave up your identity because of people-pleasing or even rejection. Either way, sometimes because of our environment, we morph to fit in. This can cause us to forget who we are. And after a while, we realize we would rather be ourselves than pretend to be who we are not. And if you are tired of living a lie, then this word is for you.

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• The Genesis…
  • The Birth of Moses
• Looking at the life of Moses in both chapters 2 and 3, we see 3 instances of him being forced to start over.
• How did Moses get here then: A place where he forgot who he was and even questioned his identity?
  • Change of authority figure.
  • Change of education system and environment
• Conclusion

The life of Moses is interesting and full of twists and turns. And we see some resemblance between his story and that of Jesus. Around the time that Moses was born Pharaoh had issued a decree to have all the newborns killed who are male. The same case happened with Jesus. Herod killed children 2 years and under. Their purposes were similar. God called Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt. Jesus came to save humanity from the jaws of sin and death. Their calling threatened the kingdom of hell and some children had to die as casualties just so they could not fulfill their calling. Anyway, today my focus is on Moses and his journey to come fully to his purpose.

When God called Moses into the wilderness to tell him of his role as the deliverer of the Israelites, Moses hid his face! He hid his face, yet God could see him. Why really did Moses hide his face? Before we can talk about that, maybe we need to go back to Genesis, so let us do that.

The Genesis…

In Exodus chapter 2, Moses is born, and the Bible tells us he was lovely and special. Therefore, his parents found it hard to kill him as was the order. So instead they hid him and when they could not hide him any longer, the mother placed him in a basket and he floated in the river until Pharaoh’s daughter discovered him. When that happened, Miriam, his sister, asked for permission to be the one to look for one to nurse him. And when Pharaoh’s daughter consented, she went and called Jochebed his mother. Moses grew up in the palace. Therefore, the scholars in the place taught him everything there was to know about power and leadership. They also taught him the customs and laws of the Egyptians.

The Birth of Moses

2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, ² and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. ³ But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. ⁶ She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” ⁸ “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

But even though Moses grew up in the palace, he never forgot who he was. It is no wonder that he killed an Egyptian who was hurting an Israelite one of his own. But this act did not stay hidden and when Moses realized that his secret had come to light, he fled to Midian. He stayed there for 40 years and then he had an encounter with God in chapter 3 sending him to go and deliver the people of Israel. It was in this encounter that God called Moses and Moses hid his face.

Looking at the life of Moses in both chapters 2 and 3, we see 3 instances of him being forced to start over.

• The first one was when his mother was forced to place him in a basket and have him float on the red sea where he was discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter so he had to go to a new surrounding. Here he was, a baby in new surroundings, one that he was not used to. He saw many faces that he wasn’t used to, back home.
• The second one was when having been trained by his mother on all the Hebrew customs, he had to say goodbye to her and her ways and now obtain training from the Egyptians who had totally different laws from the Hebrews. This yet again meant he had to adjust to living this new life and learning the new laws without the guidance of his mother. He must have felt alone and rejected to some extent. Can you imagine having to say goodbye to your mother and being taken care of by someone else? Mind you, at this time, he must have been old enough to understand what was going on. What have you had to say goodbye to that you were used to?
• The third time was when he had to flee Egypt to Midian because Pharaoh wanted to kill him and him having to adjust from living the palace life to him being in the wilderness. Rarely do we welcome change and I am sure this was the case with Moses, he had to keep changing who he was because of the different circumstances and I believe that this caused him to change his perception of himself. He forgot who he was. What have you been running away from that has caused you to forget who you are?

How did Moses get here then: A place where he forgot who he was and even questioned his identity?

There are those lonely places we find ourselves that make us forget who we are.

Change of authority figure.

Moses’ mother Jochebed raised Moses until he was old enough to wean him. During this period, it is obvious that his mother taught him and reminded him daily who he really was. I believe his mother always told him he was an Israelite and that the only God for him was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But can you imagine how saying goodbye to his mother affected him? It might have brought confusion to his life. Yes, his mother gave him the truth but sometimes he might have wondered who he really was.

Change of education system and environment

Moses changed his education system. Even while in the palace because he had to gain training from his mother first and then in the palace school too, and I can only imagine how having to experience a new system of education might have confused him. Can you relate? Have you been experiencing this? How are you handling being in a new system that differs totally from what you’ve been used to? Maybe it’s in your work, meeting people who have different belief systems. Maybe you have been questioning your faith. Do you know how to handle this situation?

How many times have you allowed yourself to change your identity because of your circumstance? I believe that sometimes we do not have to be told afresh who we are, but we need to be reminded of who we are. Because Moses had lived in the wilderness for so long, he forgot who he was and that was why he hid his face. He forgot who he was, and this is even clarified further because when God told him he wanted him to deliver the Israelites, he asked God who he was and that God would send him to the point he gave the excuse that he was slow in speech.

Hold up! Why would Moses say he was slow in speech? Yet when Acts 7:22 tells us that Moses had the power of speech? The shame of his killing the Egyptian had consumed him so much. He forgot God had called him to deliver the Israelites, to begin with. His intentions were pure, and he was, in fact, just doing what God had called him to do. But because the Israelites had rejected him, he allowed their opinions to be his identity.

Isn’t it funny that although Moses knew what his purpose was, the minute the Israelites failed to recognize and acknowledge his task, he bolted? It took God to remind him who he was for him to get back on track. Moses ran because he felt misunderstood. He knew he was a Hebrew, although the Egyptians raised him. He knew he was a deliverer, yet the Israelites did not view him as one of them. Moses did not know who he really was. God, however, patiently and lovingly reminded us who Moses was by calling him afresh despite his mistakes and shortcomings. Despite his doubt and shame. God still reminded him anyway.

Let me ask you this: what dreams have you allowed to die simply because they did not work the first time? What has God placed inside of you you have let die because you do not understand it? What failed dream have you thrown into the river and just allowed to wander away? We all have such a moment in our lives where we allow failures to cause us to forfeit what God has called us to be. Moses did not doubt his calling because of the enemy, but because of the people, he was called to save. Sometimes the reason our dreams die is that of the voices of unbelief that we allow in our ears. Do not allow other people’s unbelief to create doubt in you. People will always reject what they do not understand.

Just like the way God chased down Moses and made him remember who he was. God wants you to remember who you are. But the only way you can remember who you are is by allowing Him to show you who He is. That is why you can only root your identity in Jesus and Him alone. The first step to finding who you are is first knowing who God is. When God met Moses in the burning bush, He told him who He was first before He told him who he was,

God first told Moses, who He was before He revealed who Moses was. It does not matter how lost you feel, you will always find your identity. The secret, however, is to remain rooted in Him. And how amazing it was that in Exodus 33:11, the Bible tells us how Moses communicated with God as one would to a friend. The first time Moses hid His face because he felt unworthy and was full of shame and guilt. And in the second one, Moses knew who he was and was confident in God, which in turn gave him confidence.

Maybe you are like Moses and you have lost yourself because of the way life has been to you. You don’t have to keep wondering. Just like Moses, God wants to reveal to you your identity and He is chasing you down can you perceive Him? God sees the small steps we take. When you take those small steps God will mightily move towards you as well. He loves you so much and wants all the lies to be broken off of you so that the real you can be revealed. Child of God, God wants to give you a burning bush encounter so take the step towards Him.

Conclusion

God has a purpose for your life. And He also has the power to restore your identity. God wants to redeem your identity. He wants you to pick up where you left off. He knows how to get you back on track. After all, He is Sovereign. Whenever you veer off the wrong path, I want you to remember to ask God for help. God redeems, and He restores. When you turn to Him, He will redeem your identity. Hold on to that truth. Come to Him with boldness and confidence. What He did for Moses, He wants to do for you. You are never too far gone for redemption.