Dare to embrace your true self? – The power of radical self-acceptance

Last week, one of my devotionals below (Courage to Be Yourself) had a profound impact on me, as it reminded me that I no longer have to struggle with self-doubt, as I know that my value comes from being “fearfully and wonderfully made by God.”

“Courage to Be Yourself - https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/199/day/301?segment=0), “Are you tired of playing games, wearing masks or trying to be someone other than yourself? Wouldn't you like the freedom to just be accepted for who you are, without the pressure to be someone you really don't know how to be? Would you like to learn how to embrace your uniqueness and resist the pull to be like everyone else? If you're going to overcome insecurities and be the person God's called you to be, you must have the courage to be different. Unhappiness and frustration happen when we reject our uniqueness and try to be like each other. You're going to have to take a chance on not being like everyone else. You must ask yourself, am I a people pleaser or a God pleaser? It's not worth it to try and please man, because God didn't make you to live for other people's approval. God knew what He was doing when He made you. You are a unique individual, God created you the way you are! It's time that you dare to accept yourself as different and stop being insecure about who you are. Prayer Starter: God, I will not fear man. You did not design me to live for the approval of others. Today, I dare to be different. I want to be a God pleaser, living as the unique individual You created me to be.” The accompanying passage is from the book of Psalms, chapter 56, verse 4, which says “In God, whose word I praise; In God I have put my trust; I shall not fear.”

As I have previously mentioned in my blog, growing up as a middle child, I naturally gravitated toward being a people pleaser and a peacemaker. However, after overcoming many challenges and spending time in prayer, I have grown tremendously. Although I am proud of the woman I’ve become, I am making even more strides towards truly “loving” the woman I am.

Sometimes I revert back to my old people-pleasing habits, as well as seeking external validation. One particular event transpired last week while I was playing pickleball. For some reason that morning I woke up extremely exhausted and I struggled to get started. Immediately when I arrived at the courts, I quickly warmed up and started dinking with a few players. Shortly after we started playing a game, my mind became clouded with negative thoughts of self-doubt about all sorts of things including my skills; fear of judgement from my partner; a fixation on my mistakes; and finally, failure and loss of the game. I ended up losing that game, and the next three games as well. It was then that I was struck by a sickening self-realization, which was that I was approaching all of my games with a pessimistic, people-pleasing mindset, rather than enjoying myself, standing firmly in my self-worth and protecting my peace. Right then, the words of a song popped into my head: “In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray, Calling on the power of Heaven, I proclaim….…. I will not fear, I will not fear…” I found myself humming the song over and over again, and before long, a boldness started rising up in me, but also a peace beyond my understanding filled me. Oddly enough, after coming to this realization, my games drastically improved, and I started winning and I even had fun. LOL! If you are interested in the complete song, please click on the following link: Mighty Name Of Jesus  

Lesson Learned: What I am learning is that as I continue to embrace who God has called me to be, my desire is to please Him and not worry what others think about me nor how they see me. It takes the pressure off of me, as well as helps me to release what I cannot control, and gives me a profound sense of peace.