Overcome self-imposed limitations and embrace your original design
Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind. Psalm 26:2 (NIV)
We have never been connected on such a grand scale as we are today. Yet, whether it is the cause or effect of our constant connectedness, we are arguably less in touch with ourselves than ever. Many of us will go through life questioning others’ behavior and motives, making assumptions, fomenting doubt, harboring expectations, and gripping at justifications. At the same time, we avoid taking responsibility for the direction of our course. We measure success and failure against what we observe in others or the number of likes on social media and make ourselves diluted versions of those we admire or despise.
Understanding our unique selves – our actions, beliefs, emotions, values, and motives - is increasingly vital in this ever-shrinking world. The Holy Spirit can guide us as we grow personally without being self-centered. Only when we cast off the shackles of our egos and stare honestly at our bare selves as God created us will we be able to water the seeds of our faithful souls. The growth process guided by the Holy Spirit will answer the questions of why and who I am. It entails opening traumatic doors to locked-away experiences, second-guessing personal beliefs, desires, motivations, and values, and reconciling the present by accepting that the past is the past.
Our perceptions can cloud our pursuit of self-awareness. Constant events and experiences shape our worldview, leading us to become increasingly influenced by the expectations of others and the pressures of social media and society. We may mistakenly believe that the more effort we put into changing ourselves, the better we will become, only to realize that the harder we try, the more we tend to fail. You are not alone!
The Apostle Paul also struggled with this. In Romans 7:14-16 (MSG), he writes, “I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.”
If you feel like you are in this dark tunnel of self-awareness where you are driven in the pursuit of perfection and exhausted with failed attempts to improve, we want to challenge you to listen to the message of your designer and seek him:
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalms 139:13-16 NIV)
Challenge
We are here to guide you in understanding your God-given design. You can join our movement, a community of believers that integrates faith and life, or take a more drastic approach and enroll in our Go Discover Program. In this program, you will learn more about yourself and how God created you to be used in His mission. The program will use different assessment tools to address temperaments, strengths, the ideal tentmaker profile, and spiritual disciplines.
Pray
Lord, help us overcome the limitations we impose on ourselves and embrace the original design you have granted us. Empower us to understand our unique characteristics so that we may live according to your designed purpose. Grant us the courage and wisdom to set aside others' expectations and societal pressures and focus on following your will for our lives. Amen.