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Michelle DeRusha

Every Day Faith. Faith Every Day.

October 7, 2013 By Michelle

Authentic You: Go as You Are. Use What You Have. {day 7}

{Looking for #HearItUseIt? Click here.}

So last week we talked about trying on new voices and new styles as we explore and figure out who we really are as God made us – whether that’s as writers or professionals or partners or parents.

The post got me thinking about David. I’ve been reading 1 and 2 Saul these last few weeks, and this time I noticed something that really resonated with this discussion of authenticity. Remember when David is preparing to fight Goliath, and King Saul offers him his armor — a bronze helmet and a coat of mail? David obliges. He tries on Saul’s armor, straps a sword over his chest and then moves around a bit, feeling it out,  testing whether it will work for him. But then he takes the armor off, saying to Saul, “I can’t go in these. I’m not used to them.” (1 Samuel 17:39).

David discards the fancy armor and the heavy sword and bends down to select five smooth stones from a stream instead. He puts those five stones in his shepherd’s bag. And then he sets off to fight Goliath, armed with only a handful of rocks in a bag, his staff and his slingshot.

Before I’d even considered this 31 Days to an Authentic You project, before I’d even thought about the topic of authenticity, here’s what I wrote in my journal after I read that passage:

“David rejects Saul’s armor. When he tries it on, it doesn’t fit; it doesn’t feel right. David decides to fight as himself, not masquerading as someone else. And he uses his own familiar tools — the tools at hand: a slingshot and some stones. The message: Go as you are. Use what you have.”

David didn’t need to fancy himself up with someone else’s stuff. Sure, he tried on Saul’s armor, but he realized right away it wasn’t him. So he went back to what he knew worked. He went back to his core essence as a shepherd.

God made David a humble, lowly shepherd. Yet when the time was right, God also transformed those simple shepherding skills and those simple shepherd’s tools – that slingshot and stone — into the skills and tools of a mighty warrior. We don’t need to pretend to be someone else, because God will transform us into who he needs, when and where he needs us.

Go as you are. Use what you have. God will use you just as you are, transforming you into your greatest potential.

What are your God-given skills? How have you used them (or how can you use them) to live out your calling?

 

Authentic You: When You're Afraid to Ask for Help {day 8}
Hear It on Sunday, Use It on Monday: When All You Can Do is Grumble, God Still Listens

Filed Under: 31 Days to an Authentic You, Old Testament Tagged With: 31 Days to an Authentic You, David and Goliath, Old Testament

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a Triple Type A, “make it happen” (my dad’s favorite mantra) striver and achiever (I’m a 3 on the Enneagram, which tells you everything you need to know), but these days my striving looks more like sitting in silence on a park bench, my dog at my feet, as I slowly learn to let go of the false selves that have formed my identity for decades and lean toward uncovering who God created me to be.

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