When John the Baptist was confronted by the Pharisees about his identity here is what he said:
This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”
“Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?” “No,” he replied. “Are you the Prophet we are expecting?” “No.” “Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?” John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah: “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Clear the way for the LORD’s coming!’”
John 1: 19-23 [NLT]
I looked up Isaiah 40: 3 which John was quoting from and it’s stated differently and here is what it says:
Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness
for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!
As you can see above, John replaced "it’s the voice of someone shouting" with "I am a voice shouting"
He personalised the word He read in Isaiah and gave himself an identity of a prophet operating in the wilderness based on God's word. We too when confronted by those in positions superior to ours about who we are, should answer quoting who the bible says we are.
For example, the first time I saw change in my long-standing battle with a skin condition was when I gave the doctor who had been seeing me for many years without change, my real identity. When asked how can I help you today, I decided to change my narrative on that day and said "I was healed a long time ago, but the devil has been trying to steal my health. Unfortunately for him, nothing is impossible with God...."
I was quoting healing scriptures from Isaiah 53 and what Jesus said of God in Luke 18:27. I then asked the doctor to do what he knows best to do. A few months later I began to see signs of change!
Though I am still battling the devil, I realise that for me to win, I have to keep searching for relevant promises to confess and give myself my God-given identity depending on my healing progress. I must tell the truth – it’s not easy! Yes, sometimes I find myself joining those treating me for political correctness, in confessing something on the contrary e.g. "this part of the arm is proving stubborn to treatment"
No wonder we often win battles to take over the castle on the hill and never the war! Yes! We know very well that it is written “we were made whole” and that Jesus was able to perform great miracles because He only spoke what the Father told Him to say. Well, I am only human and such is our real trouble in this world! We are all caught in between two people - one who brought sin into this world through his disobedience and the other One who brought us salvation through His obedience and the choice is ours to identify ourselves with Jesus!
Farai Mutsambiwa
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