Confidence in God, Not Just Ourselves

In last week’s message, I really wanted to focus on confidence and the importance of remembering, our confidence, our assurance is not only self-driven but truly derived from God. Matching that confidence within yourself, along with confidence in the Lord ~ will make you a force to be reckoned with (Jeremiah 17:7).

As you read your Bible and you come across verses stating, “I shall not fear,” these are the reminders that when we are doing our part, walking in and by faith, not standing stagnant, nothing can stop us from being who the Lord created us to be. “Do not be afraid,” He tells us! He is saying, keep going, keep walking, if we take a misstep, please believe me friend, He will get you back on point, but you must keep pursuing, keep pushing forth.

A Story of Joy and Self-Awareness

Those who really know me, people who have known me for years, would tell you I have never had an issue with social ability, with being outspoken, a person who thrives on happy and fun times, the party planner, etc. You get the gist, hopefully. I’m most certainly not bragging here, just embracing who God created me to be, accepting my authenticity, my uniqueness (I’ve heard that description of myself many times).

A little story of an action that spoke to my soul regarding this “uniqueness”, happened probably 20 years ago. I was with great friends on a weekend getaway for a bachelorette party. Prior to leaving town, the bride-to-be passed out little luggage name tags for us all (they were a super cute idea). My name tag stated, “Jenny, the Entertainer”! As I strapped it to my luggage, I thought how apropos.

The Enemy Tries to Twist Our Gifts

Thinking about this, my first thought was, “gosh, is that super conceited?” Do I come off as trying too hard to be the “center of attention”? No one can see into my heart and soul and understand that my one desire in the enjoyment of “entertaining” is to watch others laugh till they burst, to literally make all their worries of the day disappear, to ensure happiness is brought on by me, and not an ounce of darkness to exude from my skin. Light, joy, and laughter galore are what I strive to create in others.

You see here, though, the first thought I had when I received my name tag, was that deceitful lie from the enemy (John 8:44). I became insecure and allowed what my friend meant for fun to put me in a position of overthinking… overanalyzing.

Overcoming the Lie with God’s Truth

Worthy one, understand, you have and will always have the power to overcome the enemy’s lies and deceit, just by speaking the faithful name of Jesus Christ, son of the Almighty (Mark 16:17). You are to embrace your individuality, whether you are like me, social as a butterfly or whether you are quiet and reserved, thriving on your influence behind the scenes.

The parts of the “body of Christ” must consist of a variety of personalities, characteristics, desires, etc. (1 Corinthians 12:12–27).

God’s Blueprint for Individuality

God placed a thought in my mind once, telling me, “Jenny, if you think of all the parts of your body, one doesn’t work without the other. We need our eyes to see, our legs to walk, our arms and hands to feel and touch, our mouths to speak,” and so on.

That fact was so revealing to me in realizing that in this, it shows the importance or necessity of difference and individuality as we live out our God-purposed lives.

I Am Who He Made Me to Be

Yes, I am an entertainer. I am loud sometimes, and outspoken with things I am passionate about, and the minute I reflected on the blessing of this truth, I began to understand MY purpose for creation. In this, I am encouraging you to be who you are, the amazing person God so fearfully and wonderfully made you to be (Psalm 139:14).

The Hebrew meaning of being fearfully and wonderfully made is translated to show you are unique, set apart, and most importantly marvelous, or standing in awe of that distinctness in our being.

A Prayer of Thanks and Growth

Hug yourself and tell Jesus, thank you Lord, for creating me, for setting me apart from others, and please help me to embrace my own uniqueness, growing in those strengths, and not allowing me to focus on what I don’t have.

Grow in me a spirit of acceptance beyond anything I can imagine, this all in Jesus holy name, Amen!

Enjoy the additional encouragement in song. Click the link to hear the song pertaining to this week’s message of hope: Beautiful, Beautiful by Francesca Battistelli