I am preparing a webinar series on designing the life within and have been nudged to include in it the topic of authenticity. The truth of the matter is many of us are stuck in and fastened to a life of mediocrity and unrest simply because we desire to live for someone else. Desiring to be who you are not or to do what others are doing is a surefire way to stay buried in dissatisfaction and discontent. Thank you Jesus this has penetrated my heart and I have broken free!
What God has for you is for you. Catch this! You may not be where you want to be, but chances are you are where you're supposed to be. Your season will always be different than others. See and measure your progress and success by God's time table. God doesn't measure success as the world does. What man gives to you can be taken away. What God gives to you is eternal. As the prophet Isaiah said, “Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like the eagles. They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). There, you have it.
I believe many of us have prolonged the manifestations of our personal development and life success simply because we are in God’s way. I can prove it. Recently someone was sharing with me about being on “the potter’s wheel.” So the researcher in me wanted to read chapter eighteen in Isaiah again to get a revelation for myself. What the potter makes depends on the quality of the clay. In the same way, what God makes of his people depends on their responses to him. You see, the clay can frustrate the potter’s intention causing him to alter the vessel. As the quality of the clay can limit what the potter can do, the quality of the people limits what God will do with them.
You’ve been praying and seeking God for a change in your life and believe me, God desires to give you the desires of your heart. But in the process, you’ve been following the dictates of others. When God nudges you to go to a certain place, perhaps for employment opportunities, to do something out-of-the-box, apologize and forgive or to ask a favor of someone, you instead decide to go and do what your sister-friend did. You can’t get a grip on your pride to apologize or forgive. And in your concealed conceit you’ll never ask someone for a favor because you don’t want them to know you are in need or need their help. This behavior has bruised the quality of your authenticity and limits what God can do in you, through you and for you.
Can you see this?
Your life’s success is founded upon one word: authenticity. Your authenticity involves time-tested principles like character, integrity, honesty, commitment, servanthood and love. You don’t have to hide behind a façade, running with the crowd, being like everyone else or pursuing position, prominence or public notoriety.
I proved this for myself and I have to admit, it was very uncomfortable for me. There are some faux professionals out there imitating and creating a model practice identical to someone else. When I latched on to the concept of designing the interior life modeled by my own interior design process, it became authentically mine. I followed no one’s lead. I copied no one’s format. I can say there were many bumps in the road, but by surrendering all of me to God making a promise to let him mold me into the vessel of his desire, I became free. Authenticity will make you unpopular at times, will cause you to stand alone, will stretch you, and must stand up to pressure.
Who others have said you are, your negative past, your sense of what you only can do, your shame and guilt do not define who you are. This morning I read a prophetic devotion by Marsha Burns that said, “Many of you, My people, will be seduced into going back in time to relive the past on some level. But, be aware that when you do that you will be opening the door to entertain old places of rejection, failure, and disappointment. This is not good for you and will hinder your walk in the Spirit. What you must do is stay present with Me, and what I am doing in, around and through you right now. You can do nothing about the past, but you can be strengthened and encouraged in the present, says the Lord.”
Your personality, talents and desires are uniquely designed by God. Don’t waste your time living in your past and putting a band-aid on wounds trying to be a mere copy of someone else. Capitalize on your strongest character traits and be good at being yourself.
What God has planned for your life is exceedingly abundantly above anything that you can ask or think. Allow Him to mold and shape you into the vessel for his use. Become a person of quality where God is not limited in what He can do in you. Rise above the limitations of your own thinking and imitations of others’ work. Learn to become the leader of your own life. Let God reveal your flaws as he did mine. This won’t make you perfect by any means, but it will make all the difference in your life!
I believe in you!
I’d really like to hear from you if this article has touched your heart. Please let me know by leaving a comment or emailing me at dmurphy@eewmagazine.com.