Made This Way

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10

Self Confidence. We talk about this feeling a lot in the world because the opposite of Self Confidence is poor self esteem, right? And no one wants to be saddled with poor self esteem. It says something about who we are as people. If we have poor self esteem it means we don’t believe in ourselves, and don’t value ourselves, and let people take advantage of us… but mostly it means we don’t care about ourselves. At least that’s what we’ve grown to believe. The truth about poor self esteem and having Self Confidence is that it’s not so black and white. Like all of our emotions, it can be fleeting because it’s impacted by whatever is happening in your life at that moment.

Think about what impacts you and your confidence. The words people say, the weather, memories of painful or embarrassing experiences. For me, all of those things can impact my confidence, but the biggest contributor by far, is Stress. Yup, I said it. Stress makes my Confidence act like an aged roller coaster. You know the ones I’m talking about. The wooden ones that the shut down for maintenance every other day because sometimes it’s great and nostalgic and reliable and others it’s cantankerous and iffy because of the rain or old joints. Stress from work, family, social activities, romantic relationships and of course my daily conquering of anxiety can make it really hard to go through life on a constant Confidence high. And I know I’m not the only one dealing with this, so I’m going to dedicate the next few weeks to talking about how we can get through the days when our Confidence and Stress collide.

This week you should remember one key thing, and as always, I’ll support it with affirmative points. But before I give you the key, I want you to think about what you should take the most confidence and pride in: who you are and who you are meant to be. Think about your kindness and compassion, your best skill that sprung from a natural talent. I hope it’s making you smile right now. Now take that smile, and remember this: you were MADE this way. That’s right. The thing you can take the most pride in is what you were born with: YOU. God made you for a purpose and you can be Confident in that knowledge. Of course, during our most stressful times that’s easier said than done. And because of that, I’ve got 3 affirmations for you to take with you.

Number 1: Stress cannot change your purpose. No matter what you come up against, who you’re meant to be is who you’re meant to be no matter how you feel in that moment. Teachers, doctors, lawyers, and even therapists, encounter a great amount of stress but that doesn’t change who they are or what they love to do. The same is true for you. Your purpose is your purpose and once the dust settles and you’re ready to get back to work, your purpose will still be there, unchanged. So don’t fret!

Number 2: Confident doesn’t mean Perfect. Stop thinking that you have to have it exactly right to be confident in it. Have a contingency plan and prepare for obstacles and just be your best in that moment. Give yourself the grace to make mistakes and keep being proud of yourself.

Number 3: What’s meant to be will always be. Take the pressure off yourself to be perfect and let nature and fate take it’s course. You can’t control everything so say the Serenity prayer, take a deep breath, and press on!

So remember, you were MADE for this! Paul told the Ephesians “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10) We are God’s masterpiece and He meant what He made, on purpose. So walk in the knowledge that you are intentionally made and be intentional about your Confidence walk. Love you, keep conquering!