Who Are You NOT To Be?

I hadn’t heard of this quote by Marianne Williamson before the movie, “Akeelah and the Bee.”  I am all for good quotes, but it’s the ones oozing with volumes of hidden lessons and meanings that catches my attention.  Eventually, I found the rest of the quote and printed it out. 

I misplaced that it years ago, but lately a piece of it has resurfaced in my mind…the part that poses the question “but who are you NOT to…?” You know how sometimes you’re in a certain place in your life where you find things that are significant for the moment, but that “fizz” eventually dies down?  Well that’s what happened to me with that quote.  It wasn’t until about a few days ago, actually, that I began thinking about it again.  As I found it on Google and reread it, a sad reality hit me.  Marianne wrote that quote over 20 years ago in her first book, “A Return to Love.”  I don’t think she knew just how much of a deep impact those words have made over the years and even now.

But the reality I came to is that many of us today live our lives in a minimized state.  We minimize ourselves, our thinking, our talents, our gifts, and our abilities.  For many reasons, but the main one being fear.  This four letter word has been the robber, culprit, and common denominator of many people’s dreams.  We’ve been held captive, petrified to take that step into destiny.  Instead, we’ve controlled and control ever move we make just to appease the menacing presence & voice of fear.  We’ve allowed fear to convince us into thinking that we’re not worthy of our talents and that our presence will never measure up in the eyes of the world.  But as the quote says, who are we to NOT think so?

1 Peter 4:10 (NLT) God has given each of you His great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve one another.

Each one of us is equipped with talents and gifts that ONLY WE can distribute to the world.  Many of us are on the cusp of entering into destiny…what we’ve been placed here on earth to do.  We can’t allow our own defeated conversations, the criticisms and judgments of others to keep us from fulfilling our role.  1 John 4:18(KJV) says “There is NO fear in love; but PERFECT love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.  He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (emphasis mine).  This scripture isn’t saying that our love is to be perfect, because of course, we aren’t!  What it’s saying is once we recognize the One whose love IS perfect, we can rest in that perfect love and move forward in confidence.  The scripture pointed out something interesting…”fear hath torment”….How many of us wrestle with being tormented by fear? (Hand raised) I’ll be the first to admit.  Day in and day out, we know there’s a greater purpose for our lives, but we submit ourselves to the torturous effects of fear.  That’s not God’s intent at all!

I want to encourage whoever reads this to know that you are worth something.  Your talents, gifts, and abilities are important and needed.  God has designed you…and ONLY you to carry out His good will for His kingdom.  So begin today with the intentional decision to own up to your call and move in the perfect love of God and fulfill your destiny.  Be blessed!

*******Here are more encouraging scriptures I use daily in this process:*******

Romans 12:2

Proverbs 18:21

2 Corinthians 10:4,5