I AM LEGITIMATE

Do you ever feel like an imposter? Not good enough, unwelcome, unqualified, a fraud, different?

This week I was on a lovely walk and in all of my enthusiasm, strayed mildly off the marked footpath. When I then saw people walking from the other direction, I got the fear. Am i going to be told off?!?!

Now this was legitimate imposter feelings, because I wasn’t exactly where I was meant to be. But it made me wonder how often those same imposter feelings come to call, when they actually aren’t legitimate and how that affects our ability to love those around us at that moment. My interaction with the people who passed was a bit weird, possibly because we both weren’t sure if we were allowed to be there, so we were both on edge. 

How do you act when you feel like an imposter? Do you work harder to feel accepted? Do you defend or justify yourself? Do you retreat and hide? Do you show off or try and prove yourself? 

Perfect love casts out fear, but fear is also pretty good at shoving perfect love out of the way too. When we feel unworthy we usually aren’t as pleasant to be around as when we know our true identity.

I think the ultimate cure to imposter syndrome, is knowing that we are loved, accepted, justified and adopted by our Heavenly Father, Maker and Saviour. If God is for you, who can be against you. Even if you don’t ‘fit in’, or have the right qualifications, knowing that heaven is for you can really deal a blow to the feelings of inadequacy. 

Meditate on who God says you are today and let it shove every other voice out of the way. 

You are precious, you are loved, you are forgiven, you are washed clean, you are made new, you are welcomed into God’s house and His family, you are justified, chosen and pleasing to your Heavenly Father. 

Love Thea x