See yourself the way you really are

Tonight I watched Kung Fu Panda 2. This might be juvenile, but I find these movies really inspiring. The panda is not especially trained or skilled. He is not physically fit. He tends to be bumbling and screws things up a lot. He doesn't even really have a plan most of the time. But he lives up to his destiny and accomplishes the impossible.

It reminds me of these Scriptures:

2 Corinthians 4

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 10

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Mark 10

²⁷ Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

I was recently praying with my mentor about my new purpose in life. I have had to renounce the old purposes I have lived for based on an image of myself that was not true to God's purpose for me. She asked God to give me a picture of what it looks like to live for my new purpose. I got the image of The Awakening statue.

In case you have never seen it, it is a giant "awakening" from his underground slumber to emerge from the earth. I remember seeing this as a kid. I think I could fit my whole person in one of his hands.

This is the image God gave me... of ME! I thought that was awfully flattering of God, but perhaps a little unmerited. "Me... a... giant?" And then I warmed up to the idea, like finally bursting up from the earth like the beautiful buds and sprouts which long laid dormant during the winter. Sure, why should I NOT be a giant? A giant in faith, in love, and in relationship. Who is to say these things are unattainable for me? Who am I to disqualify myself from the purpose that God has for me?

And I think this is what most of us do. We see ourselves as small and unqualified. We embrace all the limitations that people and life circumstances have shackled us with. The lack of promotion at work. Or worse, the lay off. And then not getting hired during the recession despite sending out umpteen resumes. Or perhaps your spouse never believed in your dream. Or you had kids and never got to use your degree that you worked so hard for. Or your vision for your life does not meet the expectations of your family. The limitations have unlimited possibilities.

But how does God see you? We know how he saw David, as a King who was currently occupied as a lowly shepherd. He saw elderly, sterile Abraham as the father of nations. Cowardly lion Gideon as a valiant warrior. Insert your favorite here...

Why not ask God how He sees you today? What would happen if you awoke from your slumber of a poor self-estimation? No matter what life has dealt or others have done to you, as is the message of the panda, it is up to you to determine your future.

So rise up sleeping giants!

“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

(Ephesians 5:14)