Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter (Isaiah 5:20 NIV).
We are a world living with a severe identity crisis. It’s all around us- from the stories in the news to social media to the rise in self-help books. The level of noise, distraction and confusion that men and women, boys and girls, around the world are experiencing is unparalleled. It’s no wonder that so many men and women today feel lost. We’ve been looking for answers in all of the wrong places. Voices around you won’t ever be able to give you the answers to the deep questions of your heart. In fact, the wrong voices or labels can keep you from your destiny! This world did not create you, so it cannot define you. Culture is always ready to speak a false identity to you.
It’s dangerous when we don’t know that we were created to shine. It’s like someone seeing the fire within us and pulling a heavy blanket over it, snuffing out the light. Somewhere behind that effort will either be a lie of “too much” or “not enough.” They’re two sides of the same coin- and all of us get attacked by one or the other. It can be about anything- physical traits (e.g., you’re too tall or not tall enough), personality (e.g., you’re too quiet or not quiet enough, too caring or not caring enough), personal decisions (e.g., you have too many kids or not enough), age (e.g., you’re too young to have any wisdom or to hear clearly from the Lord, or too old to launch a new program, business, or ministry). Anything.
These lies can quiet us for a moment, a season, or a lifetime. The words are different, but the effect is the same. It takes something that’s placed by God within us to reach His people and tells us that it’s better kept in the dark.
How do you recognize this attack? By the silence it brings. Think back to the areas in life where your spirit, your thoughts, or your heart, have been sucker punched. Knocked out by a blow you didn’t see coming. Remember the silence that followed? That place where you shrink inwards and your heart simply shuts down? Getting you into that place was the entire goal of the attack. The enemy is always trying to steal your purpose, kill your dreams, and destroy any understanding of your worth.
You and I are much less of a threat if we shrink back and stay small. Once we understand our true identity in Christ, and believe in the power of God within us, the enemy doesn’t stand a chance. That’s when we start to become the overcomers that we were always created to be. This is why what you and I believe, and see, about ourselves matters so much. Sometimes, we become smaller so that someone else can feel bigger, but this doesn’t help anyone. Another person’s insecurity is not your burden to carry. Playing small does not help the world.
Knowing that, it’s time to ask some important questions. Who are you? What were you created for? Why, out of all the places and moments in time, are you here, reading this? Are you just trying to get through the day? Are you desperately trying to grab ahold of what the world says will make you happy? What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see a face filled with strength, dignity, joy, confidence and assurance in the Lord? Do you see eyes filled with light, confident that God created you exactly as you need to be? A bespoke beacon of holiness? Are you searching for ways to pour love into the world- to be a vessel on fire for God’s glory today?