I Got To Be Me

And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ (right up to the time of His return), developing (that good work) and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you Philippians 1:6 Amplified.

God is working on me, and when someone is working on something, they are fixing it. God is getting me ready for something special and extraordinary. He has a plan for me, and I want to fit into it. I don’t know all of the details right now, but I know that He loves me unconditionally and has my best interest in mind. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath ordained that we should walk in them Ephesians 2:10.

God is working at the appropriate speed. He is not going so fast as to leave me or so slow as to frustrate me. He is moving just right. You see, He made me and He needs me to be me. The work that He is doing in me is for me only. He is doing a good work and He is not going to stop.

I have not yet arrived, and neither have you; nor has "Sister Shout-all-night" or "Brother Testimony". In fact, no one has or will arrive in this life. That is why God is faithful to keep right on working and perfecting until the very moment that Jesus returns.

I trust and respect the work that God is doing in me. Therefore, I am satisfied with who I am. I don’t compare myself to anyone else nor do I wish I were like someone else. I am who God made me, and He is making me exactly what I need to be.

I am doing everything I possibly can to be sensitive and obedient to the Holy Ghost, and with God’s help I am getting better and better. But I still have a ways to go. That doesn’t mean that I am a failure. It doesn’t mean that I am a lousy Christian. I like the way Joyce Meyer said it: "I’m O.K. and I’m on my way."

If you are not what you used to me, keep on pushing. Keep walking the walk and pressing toward the mark. Romans 12:2 says that we should not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of our minds. This is a process that takes time. It cannot be rushed. It is a gradual and progressive spiritual growth process involving God and us. We must respect the process.

God will help us deal with our temper, but then there will be something else. Thinking like the "Word" says is not a natural thing. It is supernatural. Following God can sometimes seem foolish and senseless. But as we obey and trust Him, we will have more confidence in His plan for us.

Under the Old Covenant, people had to follow the Law. There were so many rules that it was impossible to keep them all. It reminds me of the court system of our modern society; where the laws are so extensive that we don’t know anymore that life begins at conception or that marriage is between one man and one woman.

The people under the Old Covenant failed to keep the Law, so they had to offer sacrifices to atone for their failures. But the sacrifices didn’t stop them from failing so they kept on going in circles. They were always in trouble with God.

You see, no sacrifice can change the human heart; it takes a work of God. For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of those things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect Hebrews 10:1. And when God can’t work on a person, that person can’t get any better. The people tried and tried, but they failed. And when they failed, they felt bad about it. So they tried harder with the same results. Eventually they didn’t know what to do with their God. So they made their own gods or went to the gods of the heathens (like the sex god).

God gave Moses ten commandments, but by the time Jesus arrived, there were well over 2200. That in itself demonstrated how people were trying to do better without God. Jesus explained that love fulfills the whole law, but love is something that we have to learn. It is part of the work that God is perfecting. And until we arrive, God will be working.

That’s why we should always be happy with ourselves. We should always know that God is going to bring something good out of us. That doesn’t mean we do nothing. We have to obey the Word of God and worship Him in spirit and truth. We have to depart from evil and do good. We have to endeavor to follow the Spirit of God with all of all hearts. After we’ve done that, it’s up to God.

God is whom we are living for. Sure, we have significant individuals and people that expect certain things of us. But we cannot allow anyone to keep us from the work that God is doing. I am involved in what God is doing in me. If I have to say "no" to everybody else, then I’ll say no. People can make us miss God while trying to please them. They can have us going in every direction at once. And while we are trying to keep everybody else happy, we end up miserable.

God has something special in mind for me, and I can’t lose track of it. He is working in me helping me to achieve the exact thing He wants for me. Now if I cooperate with God in what He is doing in me and not get distracted by focusing on what He doing in someone else (because it looks like they are doing better), then things will work out better for me.

It’s the same way with you. God made us different on purpose. Therefore, if I struggle to be like you or to have what you have; and I make what’s going on with you distract me from the work that God is doing in me, then I lose sight of myself. That’s when I struggle and strain in my Christian walk.

It’s as if I say, "God, I put you on hold. Stop what you are doing in me. I like what you are doing in him/her. It looks good. It sounds good. I prefer that instead."

No. We need to tell God, "I want to be the individual that you made me to be. Then I will sound right, look right and feel right. Even when I make a mistake, it will be the right mistake because I made it being me.

We need to let God do His work, and then we will see ourselves changing. Gifts and talents will express themselves. Joy and confidence will fill our lives. We will realize the true beauty of being ourselves. Listen, it’s OK (even godly) to be different.

I like being myself. I am very good at it. No matter how good and exciting another preacher can preach, or how he can motivate people, or how big his church is, I am not pressured by it. Even if I copied what he did by the letter, I still may not get the same results. I like it when other preachers do well, but I don’t compare or compete with them. I am satisfied with myself and the work that God is doing in me.

I want to do what God anointed me to do. No matter how much I want to emulate what somebody else is doing, I cannot do it unless God anoints me.

You have the potential to be all that God created you to be. I want to encourage you to go for it. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another Galatians 6:4. When I stand before Jesus, He’s not going to say, "Why didn’t you do like the Elder down the street. The only person we are to imitate is Jesus.

Whatever the plan is that God has for my life, I accept that. If I don’t, I will be frustrated my whole life. Not only do we need to accept God’s plan for our life, but we need to remain in the boundaries of what God has equipped us to do.

Some of the disciples of John the Baptist got upset because Jesus was baptizing people. John told them that a man could do nothing except it were given to him from above. John didn’t get upset, jealous and start speaking against Jesus. He was secure in himself.

I am so glad that I don’t have to keep up with the Joneses. I am what I am and I can’t be anymore than that. When God works some more, then I can be a little more. But until then, I can concentrate on being the best me that I can be.

By: Edmund Brown