Bolder FaithSample

BOLDLY BE WHO GOD CREATED YOU TO BE

When was the last time you used a filter on one of your photos? I’m not talking about the kind that turns you into somebody else but the one that smooths over the wrinkles and softens the skin. The kind that gives you that perfect glow, that radiant grin.

Don’t we sometimes treat our lives this way? Setting the filter to perfection so that the world sees us in the best light possible? I can relate because I did this for many years.

I was a pastor’s daughter. I believed I had to put on a mask of perfection. I needed to be a good example to others. I needed to be good…at everything! I grew into adulthood thinking that I wasn’t allowed to be flawed, believing that I had to be perfect to meet others’ expectations.

But here’s what I found out: Perfection is impossible. When you try to be perfect—putting on so many masks—you later end up at a place where you don’t even know yourself. You wake up one day and think, Who am I?

I eventually reached a point in my life that many others so often arrive at: a place of brokenness and isolation. For years I had bottled up the deep-rooted feelings I had been denying—feelings of rejection and unworthiness—and suddenly I didn’t know where to find myself in the midst of all the clutter.

I realized I needed to get rid of those rotten filters and find out who I really was. So I did what my daddy told me to do all those years ago: I put all those emotions and wounds at the feet of Jesus.

When we lay our at His feet, that’s where we find strength. That’s when we see ourselves as God sees us. We are “God’s masterpiece” (Ephesians 2:10), His wonderful handiwork! When I finally looked through God’s filter, I discovered the true me—and I actually liked who I found!

What sort of filters do you put on your life? Do you carry different filters for different people and places? How does God see you? How can you show that person off to the rest of the world today?

Dear gracious Lord, thank You for creating in me a masterpiece that brings You glory. Help me to see myself as you see me today. In Jesus’ name, amen.