“What more can I say to you? You know what your servant is really like, Sovereign LORD. Because of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known to your servant.” 2 SAMUEL 7:20-21 (NLT)

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“What can I possibly say in the face of all this?
You know me, Master GOD, just as I am.
You’ve done all this not because of who I am but because of who you are—out of your very heart!—but you’ve let me in on it.”
The Message

How many people know what you are really like?

How many people know what you are really like and love you anyway?

Betty drove by the parsonage one day and saw me changing the oil in my pickup. On the following Sunday, she walked up to me in all seriousness and said, “I have never seen you dirty. I thought you were always clean and dressed up.” She did not know what to think about a dirty preacher.

A pastor of my acquaintance felt the need to maintain this kind of profile for his people. He chose to never be seen without a suit and tie. Yes, my friends, he even wore a suit and tie while mowing his yard. I am not making this up.

There is forever with us the ideal image we want people to see, the person we think we are, and the person only God knows. David the King knew what he was really like. Yes, he was the lion tamer, bear skinner, and Giant killer. He was also a man who loved mortal combat and lovely ladies. The Ideal Dave was the guy about whom they sang songs. The Real Dave was the guy who spent a lot of time writing songs of repentance.

Our Father in heaven looked at David and saw a shepherd boy who had the stuff he could use to build an eternal dynasty. David the King, in a moment of transparency and authenticity said, “Sovereign LORD, this is all about you, not about me.”

David the King was as familiar with his failings, his shortcomings, his previous nobody status as his derring-do and sterling reputation. Only God could take someone like him and do something eternal. At the end of v. 20, David asked in awe and wonder, “Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign LORD?”

Truth: What God wants for you is better than anything you could want for yourself.

Our Father in heaven looks at you as you can be without overlooking who you are. He knows your potential. He created you. He prepared you for a life of significance. Your ultimate contribution involves eternal greatness. The only reason we settle for less is because we find an easier path to a lesser goal.

God has a plan and a purpose for your life that is better than you can imagine. It is knowable and nameable. Our Father in heaven can take you as you are and express his amazing grace and everlasting love through you in a manner that builds a better world.

We do not have to wander through life saying with Marlon Brando, “I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody.” In our Father’s eyes, you are a contender. You are somebody. You are his champion in the making. Your lifetime adventure begins like David’s when you say what he said, “You know me, Master GOD, just as I am. You’ve done all this not because of who I am but because of who you are—out of your very heart!—but you’ve let me in on it.”

Are you in?

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I will step into the life God always dreamed for me.

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Our Father, who am I that you would take somebody like me, a nobody from nowhere, and use me to bless your world? This is all about how good you are, not about how good I am. I know myself better than that. I am convinced what you want for me is better than what I want for myself. So here am I, just as I am. Take me, mold me, shape me, fill me, use me. Amen.