Created, Chosen, and Called: Self Esteem and Your Path to Purpose

Ecclesiastes informs us that God has set eternity in the heart of humanity (Ecclesiastes 3:11). For all of our quests for understanding, significance, and self-esteem beyond the routines of daily life, we will never unravel it apart from the Everlasting Father. Yet, God reserves some eternal mysteries for Himself such that what we seek can only be found in our Creator.

There is a certain fulfillment that He reveals as we delve deeper into the unique purpose He’s assigned to us. He is the Beginning and End, who created, chose, and called us for Himself. (Revelation 1:8)

It may present no alarm to us that the same enemy who sought to sabotage Adam and Eve opposes us. He persuaded them that they lacked what they had already possessed, causing them to view themselves as less than what God had already settled.

They didn’t need to consume fruit from a forbidden tree to be like God as the serpent suggested (Genesis 3:5). They already were, as God had created them in His Image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). Sin’s effects have continued to filter through humanity, infecting us with the same distorted view.

We contend against demonic forces that pit themselves against our God-given identity (Ephesians 6:11). They have influenced our fallen world, releasing the enemy’s schemes to intercept our ability to see ourselves as God does. Although the war waged against our minds and emotions is not a flesh-and-blood fight, it is still very real. 

God has equipped us with all that’s needed to stand against the devil’s wiles and experience the settled victory in Christ (Ephesians 6:12). By choosing to agree with and activate what His Word says about our true identity, we can esteem our path into purpose and partner with God to be and do greater than we’d imagined possible. 

 Self-Esteem: Created for purpose

Most of us have questioned the highly esteemed nature of our creation. Mindsets tainted with past pain cloud the fullness of God’s Truth. Our negative beliefs and scripts contradict what the Father has authored about us in Scripture. We may not have embraced our values because we didn’t comprehend the scope of our true identity due to trauma and accompanying pain. However, we are created for more than what our back story suggests.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. – Jeremiah 1:5, ESV       

God formed us to advance His purpose for creating and bringing us into the Kingdom. He stowed unique gifts and abilities in us that are further complemented by the desires He’s planted within. Many of us have experienced turmoil in our lives, often in youth and childhood that attempts to mar us at the most vulnerable time of life.

These difficult experiences have negatively tinged our worlds, frequently causing us to doubt our worth and diminish our value. As a long-term consequence, our self-esteem has become battered by the circumstances of life and subsequent choices made out of a wounded heart.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. – Psalms 139:13, NIV

Self-esteem: Chosen to believe

Formed with precision and care, God stamped His image into our makeup. We were chosen before the world’s foundations to believe in Him. Out of all the generations of human history, He selected us to be sons and daughters, coming to believe in His Son for our salvation, healing, and deliverance.

The Holy Spirit wants to move through our new nature to draw us deeper into a sure knowledge of being beloved. When we welcome Him into the parts of our hearts gutted by low self-esteem, He helps us to renew our minds and believe what God says about us.

Often, it takes an ongoing investment to witness the fruit of spiritual and emotional wholeness and maturity. Yet, God is patient with us, willing and compassionate to help us walk more confidently with Him.

Exploring our purpose through prayer and serving with our gifts offers us a place to learn and discover not only more about God but also more about ourselves. He reveals more as we continue to take destiny steps with Him, building the faith and esteem needed to fully embrace our call.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. – 1 Peter 2:9, NIV

Our lives are written by a God who loves us. He’s walked out each of our days, and in doing so, He has made use of our difficulties (Psalm 138:16). The substance of painful narratives provides a canvas for God to reorder the chaos of our lives. The ill effects of sin threaten to sabotage our purpose and deflate our self-esteem. The enemy crafts stealthy opposition against us, but God repurposes it to serve His greater purpose and glory.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive. – Genesis 50:20, NASB2020 

Self-esteem: Called to transform

Our circumstances and history do not negate God’s call on our lives. Each of us was created with a unique purpose. As we grow in our relationship with the Lord, He welcomes us to cultivate our unique gifts and abilities through prayer and practice.

The weight of our call cannot be separated from the Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). His wisdom will furnish the insight required to steward and grow the good He’s planted within (James 1:5).

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. – 1 Peter 2:9, NIV

We depend on his leadership to navigate us into opportunities to exercise what He’s built into us. The Spirit of God blesses and breathes on our efforts, growing us in the courageous and confident expression of God in us.

We are not alone in this, as God personally coached many of our biblical predecessors into awareness of their identity. They didn’t glean lessons from the sidelines, but God provided hands-on training for them to apply and overcome in real-time.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. – Joshua 1:9,k NIV

We may require support from our family, friends, and those in our faith circles along this path. Those relationships offer the encouragement and accountability that conform us to the character of Christ. Our healing, growth, and change may begin but don’t conclude with us. We are to bring His light and transformation to the people and places in proximity to us, through the purpose assigned to our lives.

Next steps

Diminished self-esteem may have played out in our lives with a variety of negative consequences. our enemy to work through destructive thoughts to disintegrate us from the inside out. He doesn’t want us to receive the revelation of our true identity in Christ that would launch an assault against darkness. Though he works against us to steal, kill, and destroy, Jesus, as Savior and Champion, has come to restore abundance in every area (John 10:10).

We cannot change the past that eroded our confidence. However, we can trust the Lord to lay a new path for us. We have to believe His Word and agree with the God who values us enough to create, choose, and call us. If this resonates move forward by contacting a counselor through this site today.

Photos:
“Sitting Alone”, Courtesy of Alireza Ahmadi, Unsplash.com, CC0 License; “Video”, Courtesy of Anna Hecker, Unsplash.com, CC0 License; “Running Stairs”, Courtesy of Ev, Unsplash.com, CC0 License; “Motorcycle”, Courtesy of Stephen Andrews, Unsplash.com, CC0 License