Your worth is not in what people think about you. Your "what" actually needs to flow from your "who". Your worth is not in who people think though. It is indeed found inside yourself. Because it's what's inside that God sees, and what's inside you is what makes you what you are on the outside. Love who God made you to be and embrace your worth as He sees you!
A Tough Lesson
That has been a tough lesson to digest and apply in my own life. If I'm gut-wrenching honest, sooooo much of what I do is so people will think better of me. This all struck me the other day after continuing some inner healing work.
As a side note, if you've never heard of Authentic Relationships International, they do some amazing trainings that continue helping turn my life upside down for the better! When I first went through something they call, "Pursuing the Hidden Heart," I realized I never really had worked through my own life story. I like to say this training/conference/retreat is like a twelve step program/therapy all wrapped up into a few days of intensive self work. Anyway, I'm now getting more myself in that ministry and exploring ways it is adding to my own recovery work at Freedom House and Choose RCVRY.
Ok back to the motive behind what we do. I'm realizing more and more that I define my own worth and success in what people think of me through my accomplishments. So when my aim in my business or whatever really goes south or slower than expected, I'm all frustrated and super discouraged. Well I've learned to just sit in my emotions and do the work to figure out why I'm feeling the way I do. As I did that the other day, I realized the many times I tied success to others seeing my ideas and efforts "working" according to some standard I set.
An Identity Battle
Can you relate? This is so natural, but fights directly against the identity battle we all must face. If we intertwine our level of success to our identity, we set ourselves up for failure and depressive cycles. If we mix our life goals with people's approval of us, we trade self confidence for constant comparing and insecurity that almost always ends in stalled out momentum and even resentment.
Our worth comes not from what we do or what other think of us, but from what's inside us. God made us exactly as He planned, every single detail designed by God Himself. The psalmist in Psalm 139 describes this well. So when you feel down and insecure, ask yourself where you're looking for approval. Where are things or people getting mixed up with your identity. Take a fresh look over that Psalm 139, do an inner inventory, and look back upward to God because His design inside you is intentional and beautiful. Even our character defects and our rebellion can be redeemed, and that's all a beautiful part of His grand design for us.
Oh this is where our identity comes from... deep from within. Once we realize that and live from that realization, we become unstoppable! We literally live from our confidence in who God made us to be.... our what then flows from our who!
Peace,
- Derek
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