Be Yourself, they say.
What does that look like? If we can be honest, it’s a discovery we’re all making every single day.
Early on in the year, I had a strong conversation that helped trigger the thought. It’s not uncommon to find fear in being completely who we are and who God made us. There are so many voices in our world that we lend to the shaping of our identity, sometimes we don’t know if our thoughts are even our own!
In the age of social media, it’s dangerously easy to build false identities by cherry picking from others in their ideas, style, and behaviors. We start to look to others for ‘examples’ of who we need to be. All of that leaves us is confused. Our favorite preachers, bloggers, vloggers, TikTok-ers, personalities and celebrities just seem to be so dope in their own right! Then the thoughts bombard our minds:
“I want to be like that!”
“How are they so secure?”
“How is they so sure of themselves?”
“They owns their confidence so well.”
Role models are amazing and being inspired by people and their stories is great. But, if we don’t guard our hearts, we start to imitate bits and pieces to copy and paste an identity. We create this false sense of hustle and “doing me”. Some of us pull it off extremely well too. After a while, it becomes frustrating and downright confusing. It feels empty, feeling like clothing that doesn’t fit right because it doesn’t.They are not you. The truth is, there is only one you and the only one who has the blueprint of who you are is God. Sometimes we’re afraid of pulling the false identity down for God to make us into who we need to be, but that is part of the process of becoming a person of true wisdom. It’s difficult to conceptualize at first because there is no prototype for who you are but there is a template in how to be a child of God, and that is Jesus.
The best place to start in diving into authenticity is embracing God’s acceptance of who you are, just as you are. I know reading that feels weird, but hear me out.
Who you are was originally conceived in God’s heart and mind. Nothing about you surprises Him, not in action or essence. He never has demanded for us to act, hide our mistakes or mistakes, deny our awkward moments or even try to conceal our sin. The fact of the matter is even in the face of sin, we are not condemned but forgiven. We are completely accepted. We are unexceptionally and unconditionally loved.
We are called to be like Jesus. It’s in conformity to the image of who He is we will find the essence of who we are. Then, when we accept God’s acceptance, we can begin accepting ourselves. It’s a journey of every day, and I want to challenge you to discovering.
Ask yourself:
- What was God thinking when He created me? What did He desire?
- What will not happen in the earth if I don’t participate in God’s purpose for me?
- What have I been in denial about concerning who I have been called to be?
- Am I ignorant of how Heaven and hell both see me? Do I have evidence in God’s Word to fortify a true perspective of who I actually am?
These thoughts may be uncomfortable to think at first, but let God guide you in prayer and in Scripture. In the heart posture to know who He’s made you, He will reveal His intention to help you discover YOU this year… and trust me, you’re a bigger deal than you think. He won’t just do it so you can know and move on, but so you can be and live the life He dreamed of you to live for His glory.
