Showing Up As Yourself

Posted on Aug 12, 2021 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Charlotte Gambille and Natalie Grant

When we first meet people, we try to present the best dressed, most polished versions of ourselves. We tuck in our insecurity and cover our nerves. We camouflage our doubts and even make our brilliance less bold. Like someone on a first date, we try to present the image we think will secure a second date. Yet the best adventures take place when you are fully present and fully you, when the baggage is left at the door and the conversation begins not with all you do, but who you are.

When Jesus met the disciples for the first time, He invited them to leave some baggage behind. He invited them to embrace a new reality within them. He invited these fishermen to fish for people. Jesus wanted them to become more of who He knew they were destined to be, even though that would require leaving security behind.

When we don’t dare to be real, we let others tell us who we are or who we are not; we allow failed relationships to tell us we need to improve the version of ourselves we present to the world. We can let past hurts point us to a very different future than what God intends.

That’s why, when it comes to the arrival of a new opportunity, I am appealing for the real you to show up and leave all the other versions at the door. New chapters invite us to become a little more of who we really are. They give us an opportunity for a fresh introduction to the world around us. Often we need to go away from what has become too familiar to find what we need to discover. Jesus wasn’t able to carry the story of His journey in Nazareth because familiarity prevented the people from seeing the reality of who He was.

Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them (Mark 6:1-5).

All those people let a familiar face obscure the real miracle, excluding themselves from the reality of Immanuel—“God with us” (Matthew 1:23)—the Messiah present among them. Let’s not make the same mistake. Let’s not miss what God is doing and how He is moving because we’re too stuck in the familiar.

I dare you to be real. I dare you to take off any masks or costumes that life has handed you. Perhaps you’ve sought to attain a superhero cape, an impressive title, or eye-catching attire to cover wounds you’d rather not display. But if you want the God adventure, if you want the deeper revelation, then the real you must step up.