David addressed God and asked a question. Was it important? Yes. It is a good question for all of us to ask at Thanksgiving. “Who am I?” We have more to do with the question, and it has more to do with us than we realize. It’s the very nature of the question.
II Samuel 7:18 “Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? 19 And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? 20 And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.”
Who am I? What more could David ask than that? The subject should come to our mind. Thanksgiving is the beginning of a holiday season that doesn’t end until January 1. That’s how God works. Gratitude should be the heartbeat of a Christian. Our serving the Lord is not by dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. Our motivation should be gratitude. We ought to be glad that God showed us mercy and offered us salvation. No matter what name we may make for ourselves, our righteousness is nothing. That’s why Jesus came. Thanksgiving is a month before Christmas, but without Christmas there would be no thanksgiving and no hope. We can’t be our own Savior.
David was addressed as the king, but he was more than a king. He was King David. There had never been a king like him, and one day Jesus will sit on his throne as the King of Glory for all eternity. David entered the tabernacle. People may have thought he had inside pull because he was the king, but he knew that if it wasn’t for God, Saul would have killed him. His desire was to build a house for the Lord. God saw his heart, but told him he wouldn’t build it; his son Solomon would do it. God had taken care of David’s past and present. He told him what would become of him in the future. Instead of David building a house for him, God told David he would build one for him. There would be no end to his kingdom.
This drove David to the tabernacle, but he didn’t strut in like he was somebody. He laid aside his kingly garments and dressed like the common man. No matter what name people attach to us, we must set it aside. It has to be just God and me and God and you. David realized the importance of what God thought.
We’re self centered. We complain when things happen as if they should only happen to others. Why me? Well, why not? David dropped the “me and mine” when he went before the Lord. God saw him as he really was. David humbled himself. Being humble is not easy. If you say you are, then you’re not. It’s a pretense. We can’t fool God. He knows. God placed a high blessing on him, and David sat before the Lord as a child would at the feet of a parent.
This is the posture we must have for thanksgiving. How long has it been since we laid everything aside? David said “O, Lord God” in a careful way. “Who am I?” He saw nothing deserving in himself; he knew if he got what he deserved Saul’s arrows would have killed him or he would have been stoned because of the sin he committed. God was extra good to him. Paul said “I am what I am by the grace of God.” The unmerited favor of God caused David to ask “who am I?”
David laid down his image, his title, his name. We must do this and find out just who we are before the Lord. When we’re willing to face it, we’ll see the reason to be thankful. What really matters is not who I am but who God is. Does Jesus come first, others second and ourselves last? David put himself last when he said “who am I?” He called himself David, distanced himself from who he was, and called himself God’s servant. If we do anything we have to remember who we are in God’s eyes.
Our consideration of who He is to us determines who we truly are and will be. Do you need to enter the sacred court of God, sit before him and face the question—who am I? You can ask and leave knowing the answer.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 