Have you ever wanted to be somebody else or want something in your life that somebody else had? Have you ever thought that you would be happier if you were like that individual or had what that individual achieved? The majority of us have been in that position at some point in our lives. And why is that? What prevents us from being happy for being who we are? Why do we limit ourselves by comparing ourselves to somebody else?
This may be a constant struggle for you or it might be temporary. You may just be having “one of those days,” and tomorrow you will stop dwelling on those thoughts. However, many individuals will constantly have those thoughts consciously or subconsciously. My goal today is to reach into your heart and provide hope. I won’t be able to take away your doubts or your insecurities, but I do hope that I can lead you to the one that can provide that healing for you and that you can recognize that it is a process.
One thing you need to understand is that it is okay to be YOU. The REAL you. Stop hiding because you are afraid that others won’t accept you or because others will judge you. So what if they don’t accept you? So what if they judge you? Please remember that not everyone accepted the Savior, and many judged Him for saying who He truly was. That didn’t stop Christ from fulfilling His destiny, even when ridicule and imminent death were right around the corner. Please ponder His words and apply them to your life:
John 18:37
“…To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.”
Christ’s special mission was to be our Redeemer, to be able to accomplish what no one else had accomplished before by becoming “the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20), to become our advocate with the Father, and to love each one of us unconditionally for who we are and who we would become. I believe that the first step to accepting ourselves is to ask “to what end was I born?” We need to understand our purpose before we can begin to take courage and stand up for what we know to be true. That is key to being able to disregard the fear that comes from being judged and not being accepted by others.
Do you know why you were born? Let’s refer back to the first post of this series and the underlying message of the entire series.
2 Nephi 2:25
Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
You were born to have joy. But your path towards joy will be different from my path towards joy. That is what makes us unique. We all have the same underlying purpose in life to achieve joy. However, we have a life mission that can define us if we allow Christ to show us the way.
Life is about self-discovery. As a child, you quickly learn what foods you love and which foods you would rather not have a second helping of. You also learn what movies, songs, and games bring you joy no matter how often you repeat them. Physical and outward things can be easier to discover than personality and internal qualities. It can take a few days to realize you don’t have a talent for a specific thing, but you want to achieve something so bad that in the process you develop the quality of persistence, even if you don’t become the number one soccer player in the world. On the other hand, it can take decades before you discover that the reasons you acted a certain way as a child or teenager was because of an internal conflict you were having all that time, but maturity helped you come to terms with a part of your identity that you had not been able to pinpoint until much later in life.
The process of self-discovery can stretch you in good ways and not so good ways as you face disappointment, rejection, and discouragement. But each experience guides you and molds you into the real you, even if you don’t realize it until years down the road. What can make the journey easier is if we turn to the Savior earlier on in this process. He already experienced everything you would experience when He suffered in the garden and on the cross for you. He knew His life’s purpose, and that gave Him courage to drink the bitter cup and endure all types of suffering so that He could one day reach out to you in the midst of your despair. Please, don’t delay your prayer. Today is the day to lay it all out for Him on the table. Ask Him today “To what end was I born? What is MY purpose?” You will be surprised to discover what He already knows about you. You might not even realize that the person He believes can accomplish such amazing things is actually you.
I want to challenge you to look inward, assess all the positive qualities you know about yourself, and think about which qualities are uniquely yours. If a good friend had to describe you, what would be the top five things your friend would say about you? If you know what your purpose is already, great! If you are still trying to figure that out, it’s all good! Keep praying and keep searching. Above all, be proud of who you are, where you came from, and know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you. It’s a beautiful process once you understand and embrace the joy of being YOU. I look forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to leave a comment below.
That They Might Have Joy Series
