People’s opinions of us will always be there. The lies that we tell ourselves will always be there. Even then, we have to choose to believe that God created us and that He didn’t make a mistake.
By Vionette LeGrand
I remember one Sunday morning waking up and not having a voice. I was shocked! It came out of nowhere, and it was my Sunday to lead worship at church that weekend. I had two choices. I could call in and say I can’t sing, or I could fight through the pain and sing anyways. For that Sunday, I decided to sing through the pain. Little did I know that because of that Sunday. I would be hurting myself instead of helping myself. In the coming months, I would have to turn down leading worship, and I was saddened. I loved worshipping God and leading people into His presence. When I finally went to the doctor. I heard him say something that a worshipper or vocalist never wants to hear. The doctor looked at me and said, “you need vocal rest.” For me, this was a problem. I loved worship leading too much to let it go. I didn’t know it then like I do now, but my identity was found in worship leading, not in the understanding that I was a child of God.
Boldly I want to ask you the question where is your identity found? As Christians, we are trained to say that our identity is found in Christ. It’s an automatic response I hear from many of us, but “Is your identity truly found Christ?” Since I was young, my identity was found in several different things. One of them was my accomplishments. The awards I got, and what other people thought about me mattered to me. But as I grew older. I started to understand that having a foundation that focuses on a preconception of accomplishments and other peoples’ opinions of me is not a grounded foundation. People’s opinions of you will change. You might not get that award you wanted, and that career you thought you would have forever, might let you go. An identity that is found solely on accomplishments is wavering.
That day I chose to push through the pain of singing because I wanted others to like me. I didn’t want to say no because of many different reasons. For example, I will never be asked to sing or lead worship again. That false identity I was trying to hold on to was hurting me instead of helping me. What identity are you holding on to, and is that identity helping you or hurt you? Is it who God says you are or is it who others say you should be? I learned that leaning into the identity of who others thought I should be would only hurt me, not help me.
I would see worshipers on the stage being able to worship God and lead others into His presence, but I found myself on the sidelines. One Sunday, as I looked at the worshipers on stage, God asked me a question. Where is your identity found? I wanted to say in God, but I heard a voice say, is it found in me? I knew that my identity wasn’t found in God. If it was found in God, I would be okay not leading worship.
When our identity is found in God, we understand our identity isn’t found in a gift He has given us or the AMAZING career path we have. We can understand that our identity is found in who He says we are. That day God brought me to Psalms 139. He wanted me to understand who He said I was. Psalms 139: 13-18 says,
“13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” 1
Knowing that God knitted me together in my mom’s womb let me know I was created perfectly. Even if someone didn’t like me because I couldn’t sing for them didn’t matter. Even if other people thought negatively about me it didn’t matter because in God’s word it said that He kitted me in my mother’s womb. Me being defined by my gifts and works was saying “God, you didn’t make me good enough”. I learned that day that what others think about me didn’t matter because I am perfect the way that I am. Not because I said so, but because God said so.
If you have been struggling with what others think about you, let me help you as God helped me that day.People’s opinions of us will always be there. The lies that we tell ourselves will always be there. Even then, we have to choose to believe that God created us and that He didn’t make a mistake. We were created to be exactly who He created us to be. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. You were created for God’s good handiwork, and no one can take that away from you.
So here is my question to you. In who or what is your identity found?
Even when you do not feel like you are enough you are ENOUGH. My prayer is that this song encourages you today!
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Psalms 139:13-18
YouTube. (2019). Lauren Daigle – You Say (Lyrics). YouTube. Retrieved September 4, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqpNGYbcy3U.