Finding You

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

-- Psalm 139:13-15 ESV

When we are young, we often fantasize about who and what we will be when we grow up. As a little girl, I briefly wanted to be a ballerina (strictly for the tutus, not because of dancing ability); then I wanted to be a lawyer; and finally, I decided to be a writer. I had considered all of those by the time I was 5 years old. I think the real goal was to find myself and my unique creative ability. I was looking for a way to declare to the world – this is who I am.

We often attempt to define ourselves by our careers (doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur, etc.), our positions (even in the church) or by our relationships (wife, mother, husband, father, etc.). Many of us are still trying to figure out how to tell the world who we are or rather who we want them to think we are.

God crafted each of us individually. We are not some mere copy or reflection of someone else. We were each uniquely designed to be able to fulfill our God-given purpose. Your hair, your face, your body shape, and your fingerprints are not random nor exclusively controlled by DNA. God crafted even your DNA based on His divine plan. Our crafting was personal, intimate, and unique. It is in our embracing that unique person that God created that we are then enabled to fulfill our purpose. Every rejection of self quickly becomes not only a hindrance, but a direct, demonically motivated assault against our purpose.

You cannot fully embrace your purpose without embracing your person. So, the enemy attempts to keep us in a place of self-rejection: wanting to look like someone else or preach like someone else or be gifted like someone else. The enemy would rather have us spend our days being an imposter than being our true selves. BUT, that’s not the plan of God!

God wants to take us on a beautiful, lifelong journey where we learn to celebrate who we are—not in an arrogant, prideful or conceited way. But rather in a humble, awe-filled way, where we allow Him to bring out the best in us and recognize our value is in the One , who lovingly made us.

So, I ask, what about you have you been rejecting? What part of your person have you not embraced? I used to wish I had one of those big booming preaching voices that commands attention until the Lord showed me that my voice might not be heavy, but when it’s submitted to Him, it can spiritually cut through the atmosphere and bring about change. What gifts has God given you to demonstrate Him in the world?

I believe we are all still looking for ways to declare to the world –this is who I am. I believe that God puts that desire in us. But we need to demonstrate and declare our true selves – who God made us to be. Look to God today and allow Him to show you who you are both to and for Him. Then show that wonderful, gifted, and loveable person off for all the world to see!