I was chatting with our third daughter Rebekah recently about something she was feeling a little bit nervous about, and I encouraged her to just “be herself!”
Many people unfortunately never feel comfortable being themselves. We can grow insecure if we are not invited, seen to be attending or haven’t received lots of likes and tags on Facebook, and we feel we must go along with what everyone else does, thinks and likes even if that isn’t us.
There is the constant pressure to look, talk and act the part, and to fall in with the frenetic style of living all around us. We are all faced with the need to be accepted by others, which can cause us to easily lose something really important. Our true identity! Instead of seeking to discover what and who God has made us to be, we live for recognition, acceptance, and with the constant fear of not fitting in.
But God has made each one of us unique and different for a reason. We are not clones, or mono toned, but multi-faceted and technicolour, each a “poem and masterpiece” written and designed by God in heaven.
“For we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
There is a story in the bible about a young man named Joseph whose father gave him a special gift of a coat of many colours. In Joseph’s day everyone had a coat, used to keep warm, carry belongings and even to serve as security for a loan. Most would have been very plain, and about knee length, and merely functional. In contrast the coat that Joseph’s father gave him was colourful, ankle length, and probably more in keeping with what royalty wore. Joseph’s coat of many colours became a sign of favouritism between this father and son, and it aggravated his other 10 brothers no end, so much so that they wanted to destroy him because of their jealousy. (Genesis 37-50)
I believe that when we ask God to be part of our lives He gifts and bestows within and upon us our own “coat of many colours.” It’s a coat of favour and recognition that we are special in His sight, and that we have position and esteem in His kingdom. He wants us to shine and to stand out from the crowd by exploring, discovering and embracing our unique call and purpose in life. And sadly that can sometimes make others feel jealous when we begin to shine, and walk in His favour. But that doesn’t mean we are to shrink back and not accept God’s hand and gifting upon our lives. It doesn’t mean we should seek instead to become one of the crowd, and seek above all else to fit in and look, talk, and walk around “dressed” in just a plain monotone “coat”.
God wants us to choose to make time for curiosity, and wonder at the world around us. To take time to pray, to seek Him, to read that book, to take that class, to explore those things that resonate in our hearts, and to live outside the box. He has made us with the ability to choose every single day to wear our “technicolour coat of many colours”.
God wants us to find our true identity in Him and who He has created us to be. He has designed and given us the freedom, creativity and power to be a force and influence for good in the world.
We do have a responsibility to acknowledge we do have a purpose, and that God has put us here for a bigger reason than simply our own comfort and success. He has put us here to bless the world with who we are, and to reveal God to those around us in the way that only we can do.
Start wearing your own coat of many colours and:
Be willing to try some new things that interest you.
Be patient and allow God to piece-by-piece reveal the hidden plans and things He has placed in your hearts.
Don’t waste your time on things you know aren’t from God or pleasing to Him.
Don’t let people pressure you into things that sound like a good idea but are not necessarily who God has made you to be. Following His leading sometimes means saying no to friends, family and work mates, so that you can follow God’s promptings.
Keep walking – life is a journey in God of discovery and learning.
The bible says, “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.” (Proverbs 20:5)
Today choose to put on your own “coat of many colours,” and discover for yourself without fear, shame or embarrassment the multifaceted, talented, gifted individual God has made you to be.
“For you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light“. (1 Peter 2:9)
Prayer: Lord help me to realise that you have given me a “coat of many colours” because you see me as someone of importance. Help me to realise who I am in you, and to begin to explore and examine what that might mean today. In Jesus Name Amen.
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