Imposter Syndrome
When the speaker asked, "Have you ever felt disqualified?" I knew instantly this was going to be one of those ‘ouch’ messages, that left you limping out of the church meeting and into a week of deep thought and repentance.
The short answer is yes, I do. I feel disqualified all the time. Most days I really feel like an impostor, both in what I’m paid to do and what I’m called to do. I struggle to feel good enough and Lord forgive me, sometimes equipped enough too.
Imposter Syndrome is generally defined as consistently doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud in the activities, which you are viewed to have some expertise in. This feeling mainly affects people, seen as high achieving or perfectionist, who experience difficulties accepting their accomplishments.
Well, I do not by any stretch of the imagination, consider myself to be a perfectionist, but I can identify with the rest of that definition. For about 5 years after I graduated from university, I had recurring nightmares. I dreamt that my alma mater would call to notify me that they were taking back ‘their’ degree, because a review of their records showed that, I either forgot to take a class or failed a class, that they previously missed. When those 5 years of bad dreams passed, I graduated to feeling consistently ill-equipped in my various jobs and ultimately, in my career. Now, as a writer and speaker in waiting, thoughts of being less than qualified taunts me often.
Imposter Syndrome is a constant thorn in my side, but praise the Lord that the Bible has an answer for everything, that distracts us from our PURPOSE.
I love what Paul says in Philippians 3:3-4 when he warns us about putting our confidence in our flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by His Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: Then he discredits all of his earthly accomplishments and goes on by saying, v9 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Counting it all as loss is not what an ‘imposter en route to recovery’ wants to hear; but they are the words of freedom, for a qualified follower of Jesus Christ. This got me thinking deeper about where my focus laid and what my definition of success was. It also convicted me of holding onto something, that God has called me to release, so that I can receive more than that just the accomplishments of this world.
1 Corinthians 1:27-31 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
Today I encourage you to put your focus securely on and your trust firmly in, the One who Called & Qualified you!
