Who Are You

A simple but complex question.

For most people, the answer to this question is shaped by the stories from friends and family, the experiences they've gone through, the environment they live in, or even the stories they tell themselves when they look in the mirror.

The issue is that not every story is true.

For the last six months, I've been on a rigorous journey. A journey built around discovering just how loved I am by God.

Whilst on this journey, it required me to look myself in the mirror and confront the very things that held me captive. To say the least, it was painful. To say the most, it was beautiful.

I began to learn just how beautiful a life I had been given. I began to see the gift that was my life. I began to see that I, too, had been given a gift, which was the love of God.

But you know what's crazy? As great as the gift was, it's not the thing that makes me tear up.

The thing that moves my heart is that God would even think I'm worthy enough to give a gift to in the first place. That He would think of me is something I'll never get over.

During these six months, a new chapter of my life started to open up. I started to believe that I was made for more, that I could go places I never thought I could go.

I began to see that I was more than the stories that had formed my life and who I was.

They were real stories, but they were never rooted in truth.

Every person has a story, and everybody has a core identity. The problem is that when the wrong stories begin to ring loudly in your ears every day, they begin to form your identity.

And not every story is true.

If I wanted to be more direct, I would tell you that having the wrong identity will give you the wrong purpose for living.

And while I was having the time of my life with God, He was rewriting the story of my life.

He was showing me that the lies I had believed about myself were never true.

Lies like:

• That I could never be accepted for who I was, and that I would always have to change for the next person in front of me to receive love.

• That I had to earn love instead of simply receiving it.

• That my value came from the amount of success I had, and that if I failed, I wasn't really worth a dime.

And slowly, He began showing me the truth about who He created me to be.

He was showing me who I AM.

He wasn't simply making me a better person who made better choices.

He wasn't just changing my desires.

He was showing me who I AM.

Not what my life said about me up until now.

Not who my last mistake said I was.

Not who the names I had been called tried to convince me I was.

He was showing me who I AM.

My story was changing. It was evolving, and I truly felt new.

But then something happened...

Near the end of my trip, and especially when I returned home, I was met with the stark reality of the stories I used to subscribe to.

The habits that used to keep me afloat, but were truly killing me.

I had to face them again.

I would be lying if I told you I didn't fall straight on my face and think that maybe I hadn't changed at all.

The truth is...

The lies will always be so much louder than the truth if you let them.

They will make you believe that maybe you didn't change at all.

That maybe you've always been that person you can't bear to look at in the mirror.

But you have a choice.

You can choose to believe the stories that have kept you chained in whatever prison you think you're trapped in, or you can choose to believe the truth that God has consistently spoken over your life.

The truth is that you were born to be royalty.

You were born a daughter or son of a King.

And there is nothing He wouldn't give to see you smile.

He would even give up the life of His only begotten Son to be with you.

That's how much He loves you.

And that's how much He loves me.

When I'm met with such a love, that's when I remember that our life journeys were never meant to be solved in a six-month period.

And that is the heart behind why I AM was created in the first place.

It's more than music.

It's more than a blog.

It's more than a brand.

It's more than a clothing line.

It's an invitation to truly find out who I AM, and that's why this name means so much to me.

When Moses asked God who He was,

God answered:

"I AM who I AM."

And ever since, I've found myself asking a different question:

If the great I AM says who He is...

Then who does the I AM say that I am?

It's an invitation into discovering our identity whilst on this journey that we call life.

I was never fully going to know the extent of my identity in such a short time frame.

This journey into discovering who we are lasts a lifetime.

It changes slightly every single day as we look at the Author of Creation and as we experience life.

And contrary to popular belief, I know this journey isn't unique to only me.

We all have a story that nobody really knows.

We all have themes that have spanned our entire lives that we can't seem to shake.

In some way or form, we are all trying to figure out the answer to the questions:

"Who am I?"

And,

"Why am I here?"

Maybe we answer those questions with the music we listen to, the things those closest to us say, or even the clothes that we wear.

However, I think the answer is a lot deeper than any of those.

And discovering those answers is the story of I AM.

Maybe you feel the same way.

Maybe you have the same desire to walk with a purpose rooted in true identity.

I don't have the answers to these deep philosophical questions.

But I know that the impact of finding those answers is worth the journey of discovering who I AM.

This is the journey of I AM.

Welcome to it.

Samuel Ayigbe