Foundations of Leadership; Who Am I? Finding Your Identity in God

Devotional

Day 1: Identity Forged in the Wilderness’s Obscurity

Moses spent forty years in Midian’s wilderness, stripped of palace status yet prepared for purpose. The desert wasn’t punishment but a classroom where false identities died. God often speaks loudest when cultural labels fade and self-reliance crumbles. What feels like abandonment is often divine excavation, clearing space for eternal purpose. Surrender to the wilderness, for it’s where God reshapes fugitives into leaders. [07:38]

“There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. […] ‘Do not come any closer,’ the Lord warned. ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.’”
(Exodus 3:2–5, NLT)

Reflection: What wilderness season are you resisting? How might God be using obscurity to strip away false identities so you can hear His call?

Day 2: Excuses Unmask the Identity Crisis

Moses’ five excuses weren’t mere objections—they exposed his fractured self-perception. “Who am I?” revealed insecurity; “Send someone else” betrayed avoidance. Each protest became a mirror showing where he’d anchored his worth. God’s reply never coddled Moses’ fears but declared His presence. Our excuses aren’t roadblocks but signposts pointing to where we’ve misplaced our “I am.” [12:25]

“But Moses protested to God, ‘Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?’ God answered, ‘I will be with you.’”
(Exodus 3:11–12, NLT)

Reflection: Which of Moses’ excuses (insecurity, fear, avoidance) do you most relate to? How does God’s “I will be with you” confront that specific struggle?

Day 3: Limitations Highlight God’s Power, Not Your Weakness

Moses’ stutter became the stage for God’s glory. His “I can’t” met God’s “I formed your mouth.” Weaknesses aren’t disqualifications but amplifiers—cracks where divine light shines through. When we fixate on flaws, God reframes them as proof He needs no co-signers. Your limitation is His invitation to astonish. [30:36]

“But Moses pleaded with the Lord, ‘O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now. […] The Lord said to him, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear? […] Now go! I will be with you as you speak.’”
(Exodus 4:10–12, NLT)

Reflection: What limitation have you labeled a liability? How might surrendering it to God turn it into a testimony of His strength?

Day 4: Rejection’s Sting Meets Christ’s Scars

Moses feared Pharaoh’s rejection, but Christ bore humanity’s ultimate rejection on the cross. His scars answer every “What if they don’t listen?” with “I listened.” When shame whispers “unworthy,” the whip marks shout “accepted.” Your value isn’t voted on—it was settled at Calvary. [20:11]

“He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. […] But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.”
(Isaiah 53:3–5, NLT)

Reflection: Where has rejection left you hesitant to lead? How does Jesus’ embrace silence the fear of others’ opinions?

Day 5: Citizenship Shapes Conduct, Not the Other Way

Moses didn’t act like a deliverer to become one—he acted because he was one. Identity isn’t earned through performance but received through presence. Like a passport, heavenly citizenship precedes earthly obedience. You don’t strive to belong; you obey because you already do. [36:10]

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
(2 Corinthians 5:20, ESV)

Reflection: Are you trying to “prove” your identity through actions? How would leading as an assured ambassador—not an anxious applicant—change your next step?

Sermon Summary

Calling names Moses as an ambassador before it fixes his resume. Exodus 3 shows Yahweh hearing Israel’s cry and sending Moses, then answering the burning bush with a burning question: Who am I? The claim lands hard and simple: identity is not found in comfort; identity is found in calling. The Lord’s Prayer sets the frame. Heaven comes to earth through ambassadors who actually lead their own lives, not through spectators who make excuses.

The wilderness shapes Moses before the palace can own him. Forty years in Egypt teach status and power; forty years in Midian teach surrender. God does not meet him in the palace; God meets him in obscurity. The stripping is not punishment; it is preparation. When everything external is pulled away, true identity starts to surface.

Moses’s five excuses become windows into a fractured identity. “Who am I?” exposes insecurity. God does not hand out self-esteem; God answers with presence: “I will be with you.” Identity anchors in God’s nearness, not in Moses’s pep talk. “Who are you?” exposes an intimacy gap. Yahweh names himself “I am who I am,” not Moses’s way but Yahweh. The Name is not a label Moses carries; it is the living God who carries Moses, present and active in the very calling he gives.

“What if they don’t believe me?” exposes fear of people. God asks, “What’s in your hand?” and turns an ordinary staff into a sign. Identity cannot rest on approval ratings. The cross settles rejection. Isaiah 53 shows the Beloved bearing rejection so the beloved become accepted in the Beloved. That exchange frees forgiveness, releases bitterness and rebellion, and even teaches how to shut the gates of eyes and ears so torment loses its access.

“I can’t” reveals a limitation mindset. God says, “Who made your mouth?” Limitations do not disqualify; they mark the very places God wants to show his power. “Use someone else” unmasks avoidance. Here God gets angry, not because Moses declines a task, but because he resists becoming who God calls. Identity is formed through obedience. God calls him mid-process, then shapes him as he steps. When identity is unclear, obedience becomes optional; when identity settles, purpose opens.

Moses arrives a fugitive and leaves a deliverer, though nothing external has changed. What changes is who he believes God is and, because of that, who he is. The call is simple: stop striving, surrender, receive who Christ says you are, and lead so earth starts to look like heaven.

Key Takeaways

1. Identity awakens in calling, not comfort [05:22] Identity stabilizes when God names a person and assigns purpose. Comfort props up borrowed labels; calling pulls off the props. The “burning bush” becomes a burning question that God answers with his own presence. Step toward the assignment and watch identity rise to meet it. [05:22]
2. The wilderness is preparation, not punishment [07:38] Obscurity is where false selves go to die and God’s voice grows clear. Egypt teaches skills; Midian teaches surrender. When the externals go quiet, the soul learns to be led. Receive the wilderness as the workshop where God forges a leader. [07:38]
3. God answers insecurity with his presence [13:33] “I will be with you” is better than any pep talk. Presence lifts a person out of comparison and into communion. Courage does not come from looking in the mirror; it comes from walking with the One who sends. Proximity to Yahweh outlasts mood and metrics. [13:33]
4. Christ’s rejection secures real acceptance [21:35] At the cross, the Beloved wears rejection so the rejected become “accepted in the Beloved.” That exchange undercuts fear of people at the root. From there the heart can forgive, release bitterness and rebellion, and even accept its own imperfections without quitting the call. [21:35]
5. Limitations mark places for God’s power [31:42] “Who made your mouth?” reframes deficits as altars. God does not avoid weak places; he inhabits them. Offer the stutter, the scar, the shortage, and watch grace do what talent cannot. Surrender turns limits into signs. [31:42]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:35] - Foundations of Leadership kickoff
[01:57] - Ambassadors of heaven on earth
[03:18] - Honoring God’s word
[03:36] - God sends Moses to Pharaoh
[05:22] - Identity found in calling
[07:38] - Identity forged in the wilderness
[09:08] - Surrender learned outside the palace
[11:54] - Excuses expose identity fractures
[12:41] - Excuse 1: Who am I?
[14:09] - Excuse 2: Who are you?
[16:34] - Excuse 3: What if they won’t believe?
[20:11] - The cross and rejected acceptance
[21:35] - Accepted in the Beloved
[28:10] - Close the gates: eyes and ears
[30:05] - Excuse 4: I can’t
[31:42] - Weakness as a venue for power
[32:05] - Excuse 5: Use someone else
[33:50] - Presence over performance
[35:59] - Identity formed through obedience
[36:50] - Settle identity to walk in purpose
[38:59] - From fugitive to called deliverer
[42:58] - Blessing and commissioning

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Exodus 3:9-15 (ESV)
“And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.”

Observation questions

What five excuses did Moses give God in Exodus 3–4, and how did God respond to each one?
How does the sermon describe the difference between Moses’ time in Egypt (40 years) and his time in Midian (40 years)? [07:38]
What does Isaiah 53:3-5 reveal about Jesus’ experience of rejection, and how does this relate to our identity? [20:11]
According to the sermon, why does God often call people during their wilderness seasons rather than after they’ve “fixed” themselves? [34:18]

Interpretation questions

Why do you think God answered Moses’ insecurity (“Who am I?”) with “I will be with you” instead of affirming Moses’ abilities or past?
How does Christ’s rejection on the cross (Isaiah 53:3-5) dismantle the fear of being rejected by others? [21:35]
The sermon says, “Your limitations don’t disqualify you; they reveal where God wants to show His power.” How does Moses’ speech impediment (Exodus 4:10) illustrate this principle?
Why might resisting God’s call (like Moses’ fifth excuse, “Use someone else”) be less about the task and more about rejecting one’s God-given identity? [32:58]

Application questions

What “wilderness” season are you currently experiencing (e.g., obscurity, waiting, loss)? How could surrendering to God in this season prepare you for His calling? [09:08]
Which of Moses’ five excuses (insecurity, lack of intimacy with God, fear of rejection, limitation mindset, avoidance) do you most relate to right now? What practical step could you take this week to confront it?
The sermon says, “Your identity cannot be built on people’s approval.” Where have you let others’ opinions dictate your choices or self-worth? How might focusing on God’s presence (“I will be with you”) shift this? [13:33]
What limitation or weakness (e.g., a skill gap, past failure, insecurity) have you been hiding? How could offering it to God become an opportunity for His power to show up? [31:42]
The sermon challenges: “When identity is unclear, obedience becomes optional.” What is one area of obedience you’ve avoided because of uncertainty about who God says you are?
How can you “close the gates” of your eyes, ears, or mind this week to reject lies about your identity and focus on God’s truth? [28:10]
What would it look like to lead one area of your life (e.g., family, work, relationships) this week as an “ambassador of heaven” rather than a passive spectator? [01:57]

Sermon Clips

He's in the wilderness. He comes up. His burning bush is burning. It's on fire, but it's not burning up. It draws his attention. God tells him to take off his shoes as his holy ground. He begins to speak to him. Here's the big idea for today's message. You don't discover your identity in comfort. You discover it in calling. I'm a say it again. You do not discover your identity in comfort. You discover it in calling. Now often, our excuses are the doorway to God revealing himself. [00:05:22] (32 seconds)

If I create it, I can use it. I don't care what you said before. I don't care what you did before. If I made it, I can use it. Just surrender it. What's in your hands? What do you have that I can use? I never call anything that I can't equip. Here's the truth. Your limitations don't disqualify you. They reveal where God wants to show his power. I'm a say it again. Your limitations don't disqualify you. They reveal where God wants to reveal his power. [00:31:09] (43 seconds)

So Moses had to learn that I don't act like a deliverer to become one. I act like one because I am one. Because God says I am. God says I am. And here's the last point, and then I'll let you go. You can't walk in purpose until you settle, I did it. You can't walk in purpose until you settle identity. Moses Moses' hesitation delayed his obedience. And here's the danger. If you don't settle identity, you will constantly negotiate your calling. [00:36:25] (37 seconds)

Moses Moses' hesitation delayed his obedience. And here's the danger. If you don't settle identity, you will constantly negotiate your calling. you don't settle the identity, you will constantly negotiate your calling. What you should, what you shouldn't. God says go, you say, what if. God says speak, you say, I can't. God says, lead, you say, use someone else. Here's the truth. When identity is unclear, obedience becomes optional. This is what I want you to know. When identity is unclear, your obedience becomes optional. So don't let the enemy confuse you about identity. [00:36:49] (46 seconds)

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Foundations of Leadership; Who Am I? Finding Your Identity in God | Pastor Burnard Scott