Have you ever walked into a room and something inside told you that you didn’t belong there? Perhaps it wasn’t a whisper of not belonging, but a shout. If I’m being honest, that shout rings out more than I care to admit. Often, I try to bypass this shout by ignoring it. But just when I think it’s gone, there it comes, rising up again.

Recently, my amazing friend Abbey hosted a gathering for a group of professional women, founded by her business coach Leslie. I would classify Leslie as the poster child for what a professional businesswoman looks like, sounds like, and acts like. When I look at or define myself, “professional’ is never the word that comes to mind.

I’ve always worked a job, never a career. I’ve lived at the will of an employer by accomplishing their task list and punching a clock on their time. Over the many years I’ve walked with the Lord, He’s given me dreams and a vision of owning my own businesses, leading my own ministries, and even building a team to accomplish His purposes. Most of those dreams and ideas are still just that, dreams and ideas. I’m grateful that the Lord has opened some doors of opportunity in those areas, but it hasn’t looked like I imagined.

The morning after the gathering, Leslie hosted a workshop for casting vision and goal setting. I hadn’t planned on attending, but Abbey insisted that I needed to be there. So, I showed up, feeling extremely inadequate and, even more, underqualified. I sat in a room filled with women who were rock stars in business, leadership, and entrepreneurship. They had big visions and big creativity. They were brilliant and dynamic. They were shattering boxes and stereotypes and glass ceilings. Have I mentioned that I felt inadequate and underqualified?

Leslie went on to share her incredible insight, knowledge, and experience with all of us. I knew from the moment I met her that there was some purpose in us connecting. I wasn’t sure what it was. Then, she began to take us on a journey of diving deep into our identities. She began to speak of our inner SHEs and our inner HERs.

Our HERs are who we really are and who we are at our best. Our SHEs are everything else. They encompass our doubts and fears and insecurities. Leslie taught us that our HERs should eventually outnumber our SHEs. I sat back and took everything in. I took pages of notes. It was helpful to hear examples of how those inner voices played out in another woman’s life. In some instances, the SHEs were louder and in others, the HERs won out. Leslie spoke of how her thoughts and beliefs had changed over the years. Her mind had been renewed. I listened to women in the room, with tears in their eyes, wrestle with those same inner voices in their own lives.

The workshop ended and I thanked Leslie for the incredible gift she had been. The purpose for my being in this workshop had become plain. At some point that morning the Lord began to give me revelation on Leslie’s SHE vs. HER conversation. God said that HER is who He’s called us to be and that SHE is the voice of the enemy.

Those two days surrounded by these spectacular women were probably the clearest case of Imposter Syndrome that I had ever experienced. In that space, I could pretend it didn’t exist. God wanted me to confront some false identities I had taken on. False identities can be lies the enemy has spoken over us, lies others have spoken over us, or lies we’ve told ourselves. All of those lies are strongholds meant to distract us, keep us from the purposes of God, and prevent us from becoming conformed to the image of Christ.

We all have this battle in our minds over our identities. We need only to look at the world around us to confirm this reality. All the voices around us are constantly fighting for our attention — but so is the voice of God. 

I thank God for His Word. It is our sure foundation. His words speak life and ring true, just as His nature does — He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is not a man that should lie. So when God defines us, it is immutable.

Ephesians 1: 1-14 reminds us exactly who we are in Christ. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing. We are chosen. We are holy and blameless. We are loved by the Father as Jesus is loved by Him. We are adopted into the family of God. We are accepted in the Beloved. Our inheritance is redemption through Christ’s blood. We are forgiven of our sins. We are saved by grace and sealed with His Holy Spirit.

If that isn’t enough, Scripture goes on to say that we are redeemed, delivered, and set free. We are righteous and made in His image. We are new creations who now have a friendship with God. We are no longer bound by shame. We have peace, joy, and hope in Him. He has good plans for us. We are no longer condemned. We have eternal life.

The choice is always ours. Who will we listen to? Who will we believe?

If you are struggling to believe your identity in God, I’d love to pray for you!

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