Daily Delight

This is for the friend in the back.

Throughout many years of my life, confidence was a struggle for me. Living in a culture that focuses on self-image, I spent years feeling colorless and one-dimensional – the textbook blank slate. To keep up, I would mimic the people I admired. Copying pieces of their lives, I was desperate to be noticed and liked as they were – floundering within a murky question mark of purpose.The world proclaims we must express our individuality, but (funny enough) there’s no handbook for beginners. We are so often told to find confidence in ourselves, but how can we do this if we do not know who we are?

Listen. There is an answer:

“You have searched me, Lord, and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways.” -Psalm 139:1–3 (NIV)

"For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” -Psalm 139:13 – 16 (NIV)

Let me tell you something. Your canvas is not blank – God has painted you perfectly. He knows you because He made you. He crafted your identity before you took your first breath, and He’s waiting to show it to you. True confidence comes from an identity set in Christ, not in self. Seek His relationship, and you’ll find yourself there.

A few years ago, this truth changed my life.My beautiful friend in the back, step out. Let yours be changed, too.

About the Author

Sierra Okoniewski

Sierra is a spunky, 22-year-old Michigander who is saved by Jesus Christ every single day. A college student with a culinary degree under her belt, she loves to whip up pies and brunch for hungry friends...sometimes in that order.

Sierra lives in Romeo, Michigan with her parents, three sweet siblings, and their spazzy Australian Shepherd puppy, Pepper. Her calling is to write about the work that The Father is doing in her heart while she grows as His daughter.

You can often find Sierra karaoke-dancing in the kitchen, lavender latte in hand. If she's not there, she's probably out backpacking...but she promises to return shortly, armed with bear hugs and big-mountain stories.