Copyright 2021 by Joyce Meyer.
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FaithWords
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First Edition: September 2021
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. | Scripture quotations marked AMPC are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. www.Lockman.org. | Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. | Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. | Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV Text Edition: 2016. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. | Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. | Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from the New Century Version. Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021939252
ISBNs: 978-1-5460-2634-1 (hardcover), 978-1-5460-2944-1 (large print), 978-1-5460-2635-8 (ebook)
E3-20210721-JV-NF-ORI
CONTENTS
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Being our authentic and unique selves in a world that seeks to conform us to its image or tries to make us something we are not is a challenge we will deal with most of our lives. We are all unique, and that is good. The qualities that make us special benefit us and bless others in many ways. According to Gods design, no one person is precisely like anyone else. Even identical twins have different fingerprints and different iris patterns in their eyes. Their DNA is very similar, but not exactly the same.
There is no one else in the world exactly like you. This not only makes you unique; it also makes you very special. One-of-a-kind things are usually very valuable and highly sought after. This makes me wonder why so many of us try to be like other people. Many of us put great effort into trying to beor appearing to besomeone or something we are not. I believe we do this because we have not accepted and embraced ourselves, and we fear that other people will not accept us either.
I suffered for many years trying to be like people I admiredat least I admired the traits I saw in them that I did not see in myself. I had not yet learned that God gives each of us unique traits, but He does not give us all the same unique traits. We are all good at some things, but no one is good at everything. Accepting this is the first step toward being at peace with ourselves and with other people.
It is possible to try so hard to be like so many other people that we forget who we are. During his acting career, Peter Sellers played so many roles that he sometimes lost himself in the characters he played. When approached by a fan who asked, Are you Peter Sellers? he answered briskly, Not today, and walked on.
When we allow other people to pressure us to be someone we are not, we can become frustrated. The people around us can become equally frustrated when we expect them to do things they are not gifted to do or to be anyone other than themselves. Jesus came to set us free, and part of the freedom He offers is the liberty to be and enjoy who we are without comparing ourselves to or competing with others.
People who are authentic have accepted their uniqueness and have learned to enjoy themselves as they are. They do not struggle to be what other people want them to be but desire to be who God has created them to be and to have the courage to follow their own heart as He leads them. They have no need to pretend or be hypocritical. Instead, they have pure hearts and right motives for all they do. They like who they are, and they enjoy being at peace with themselves.
We all have room for improvement in our character and in our behavior, and we can and should work with the Holy Spirit to make the changes that are needed in our lives. But we also have many qualities that, although we may not like them, we cannot change because God has made them part of who we are. For example, I spent years not liking my voice because it is deeper than most female voices, and I am often mistaken for a man when I call people who dont know me. However, eventually I realized that God gave me my unique voice for His purpose, and I learned to accept and enjoy it.
We might be tempted to worry about the aspects of ourselves we would like to change, but Jesus says that worry cannot add a single hour to our lives (Matthew 6:27). God has already thought through the shape of our lives, and no amount of work or struggle can ever change them.
More than forty years of experience in ministry has taught me that unhappy, frustrated people are usually that way because they dont like themselves. Instead of accepting themselves and becoming all that God wants them to be, they continually strive to be what others want them to be or what they imagine they should be. We all want to please people, and Gods Word tells us that we should strive to live in harmony with others, even when it comes at a cost (Romans 12:16 and 15:1). However, if pleasing people causes us not to please God, then we must obey God, not other people (Acts 5:29).
One of the best gifts you can give yourself is to accept yourself and believe that God created you with His own hand in your mothers womb. All of His works are wonderfuland that includes you (Psalm 139:1316). I pray that, as you read this book, you will learn to embrace your unique self and live authentically and that you will find freedom from comparing yourself to others and from trying to please people in unhealthy ways. I also pray that, in your life, you will set boundaries that keep you safe from letting others control or manipulate you and that you will find the freedom to be the amazing person God intends for you to be.
