We all have those moments, days and sometimes even years of feeling inadequate, inferior and just plain unlovely. If we are not careful those things will consume us, our lives and how we I view ourselves and those around us.
God spoke this to me recently in one of those bouts of insecurity and inadequacy, “honor who you are; who I made you to be.”
Often times we want to tell God that we will honor who we are once we first change ourselves and overhaul who we are, until there is no original version left of us at all to honor. So we honor who we want to be instead of who God made us to be.
"Yes, God, I will honor who I am once I remove who you made me to be. Once I lose all this weight, once I get plastic surgery to fix what you created incorrectly."
What we see as imperfection and flawed, God sees at remarkable and His most incredible masterpiece. We want to take Gods “Mona Lisa” and throw some filters on it to make His original piece of art unrecognizable.
The bigger picture here is that God created us intricately with a lot of planning and not even the tiniest detail was left spared. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)
To dishonor what God has lovingly made is a slap in the face of God and the ultimate disrespect. He made our individual personality, heart, mind, thoughts, physical features and stature for His purposes. God did not make a mistake; we are just misinterpreting His art work. Have you ever looked at a piece of artwork and thought, “what the heck is that?” Art is subjective just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder and our ultimate and only qualified beholder is Jesus Christ.
There's nothing more draining or depressing than wishing you were the one sitting next you; the one you will never be, but yet are still utterly and seemingly hopelessly consumed by.
There is no benefit of wishing you were someone else, no pay off just bitterness and contempt. I don't know about you but I don't have that kind of energy to waste. We have to stay busy and focused on using what Gods given us right now to fulfill His call on our lives and we cannot allow insecurity to steal our destinies.
How do we honor who God made us to be?
- We must take care of ourselves. This includes physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally. Taking care of ourselves is one of the highest forms of honoring God because we are honoring the temple He created. If we have balanced taking care of all parts of ourselves we will then be free to help those around us without feeling constantly drained. Taking care of yourself also includes who you are allowing to be actively involved in your life even in your thoughts and emotions. It is respecting ourselves in all facets. Are there areas in your life that you could be taking better care of yourself and have more balance?
“For God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20 NLT)
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1 NIV)
- Using the tools God has entrusted with us in our lives now. We don’t sit around waiting for the temperature, conditions or circumstances to be just right to jump into where God needs us now. Where could you be of service right now in your life using the tools you have currently?
- Work diligently and serve wholeheartedly for God. No matter what the task (even the most mundane); we must do earnestly and willingly for God not man. We should live for an audience of one, God. When we do that the inevitable affect will be that those around us will see us working and being the utmost best we can be (awesome how that works!). I don’t care if you are changing diapers or flipping burgers, do it to the best of your ability and I guarantee you it will show Gods glory.
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” (Colossians 3:23 NLT)
“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people.” (Ephesians 6:7 NIV)
When you are honoring God by being who He created you to be you will face some obstacles. The enemy will try and hit us the hardest by going straight for the heart of who we are and who we were fashioned to be. If he can manipulate us to believe that we are less than, he can hinder us from our purpose and calling in one swift swoop; the one two punch knockout! I want to leave you with this quote:
“Whenever you feel unloved, unimportant or insecure, remember (who you are) and whom you belong.”
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