Why God Wants You to be Real
Inside: We wear masks as a way to escape pain and protect ourselves from further hurt. Don’t be an imposter if you want to experience God’s greatest. Be real, be who God made you be!
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I’ve been wearing a mask for a long time. Some painful things happened in my past which had me find this mask and apply it tightly to my face. Behind it, I felt safe because I wouldn’t allow anyone to see the real me.
What kind of disguise do you wear?
It’s covering those feelings or problems that you don’t want others to see.
Hiding behind the disguise feels safe, doesn’t it?
Why I Decided to be an Imposter
A few years ago, intense anxiety showed up. Panic attacks and fear kept me away from everything and became my new way of life.
Confusion surrounded me as to what was going on, I thought I had some disease or chronic issues, but it was really anxious. Looking back now, I think it was God’s way of ripping that mask off once and for all.
You see, I had thought I needed to hide the real me because I was once told I was defective.
So I became an imposter for most of my life, even when I grew up. I rearranged the disguise to cover the majority of me.
I’ve been an imposter for protection, hiding, and performance. No one could know how I was feeling or even what I was feeling. It was a shield to keep me safe. I could be happy even when inside I was hurting deeply.
When my intense anxiety was happening, I was frustrated with God and the mess surrounding me.
Many times, I asked him why he did this to me. He seemed absent, and my pleadings went unanswered.
What I couldn’t see, was God was stripping away my worn-out mask. It couldn’t serve as my idol any longer. He was done with me trying to be someone I wasn’t created to be.
God called my bluff, I couldn’t hide behind being an imposter.
Yep, I’ve been an imposter for years.
Why do we put on masks?
Could we be real instead?
Form of control
When we wear a mask, it keeps us from displaying our hurts to others. We can hide and not let others affect us as much. We might keep a smile on our faces, but inside we are crying. It’s exhausting to live life trying to control what happens to us.
Wearing a mask wears you out. Faking it is fatiguing. The most exhausting activity is pretending to be what you know you aren’t. – Rick Warren
Blend In
Behind the disguise, we become like others. However, when we hide, we lose the uniqueness of how God made us. He wants us to be different from others. Our strengths and weaknesses are needed in His Kingdom’s work.
Wearing a mask protects us from vulnerability. I fear that if I stand tall and exposed, I’ll be “weak” in some way. But when you wear a mask you stand in resistance to your true life and end up attracting realities that conflict with who you really are. ~ Tina Williamson
Fear
Others won’t like me! We keep our real selves hiding from others and sometimes from ourselves. We instead choose to be who others want us to be. What if what we are hiding is what God wants to use?
Protection
Pain has left scars so our mask becomes an invisible force field to keep us safe from hurt and pain. Others can’t see what’s going on inside when we wear our disguise.
Isolation
We keep ourselves from others so they can’t hurt us. We might even put on a mask ourselves, so we don’t have to deal with our feelings, however, this can make it hard in decision-making. Isolating increases anxiety and depression.
He often felt that too many people lived their lives acting and pretending wearing masks and losing themselves in the process. – Nicholas Sparks
Be Real, Be You
Here’s the thing, you will never enjoy your life trying to be someone you are not. You will chase after things to fill you and be just as empty inside. When you unmask, you start to experience joy and peace from God.
We can’t trust God and surrender to His plans if our mask is our idol.
When the mask is more important than the Messiah, we’ve made a mistake.
When you’re not an imposter anymore, you learn:
- Authenticity. We can admit brokenness and pain, which empowers us to lean more dependently on Christ. We can form deeper relationships built on honesty.
- Change of perspective. The pain of the past has been unmasked and we can start to see how God is using the past to change our future.
- Enable us to take bold steps of faith. As we embrace ourselves, fears can be faced and we can follow where God is calling us at this present time.
- Experience feelings in greater depth. We no longer feel shameful when we have emotions.
Your mask won’t keep you safe or make you happy. Only by removing it and allowing God to work in your hurting areas, will you find peace and healing. He has good things planned for you and your life. Hiding behind the mask is not the way to cope with your pain, God is.
The truth is, God made you unique in all your ways. He doesn’t want you to hide or keep yourself from others. He has a purpose for you and only you can do it. The Truth says you are loved and chosen because of your unique you.
32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
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Hi, Julie!
I truly enjoy your blog and wanted to nominate you for the Liebster Award. If you choose to accept, you can read about it in the post below. Thank you for faithfully pointing your readers to the Creator! Blessings!
http://www.estherdorotik.net/blog/liebster-award-nomination-pay-forward/
Esther | Chosen & Cherished
Esther- thank you so much! It’s so sweet of you to think of me! Hugs!
This is such a good article. So many of us wear these masks and now we even have movies about super heroes that make wearing a mask look cool, but as you said, in reality, wearing a mask makes it impossible to be the person God really wants us to be. Thanks for sharing. I needed to hear this today. – Amy
http://stylingrannymama.com/
Thank you, Amy! I’m glad it inspired you!
I think most people in the American church are impostors. I grew up in Guatemala, and Hispanics wear their heart on their sleeve and are real. When I moved to the United States, I was shocked by the superficiality of conversations. No one wants to reveal who they truly are, so no one can receive love from anyone else because no one knows anyone! This is especially heartbreaking in the church, which is meant to build each other up.
Susan- thank you for sharing your experience! I’ve never witnessed anything different than the United States.
I love this post!
Thank you, Leah!
Yes to ALL this!!! We are more valuable and authentic when we show the world exactly who God created us to be! Love this, Julie!
Liz- thank you for your encouragement!
Hi Julie, I think that authenticity is so important for us as children of God. We are more real to people and can help others more when we don’t pretend to have it all together. Such a great post.
Amy- I agree, it’s the way we spread the Message the best!
Julie, this is so very true. The irony is that those masks that feel so safe are actually harming us more than being brave enough to remove them.
Christa- I agree wholeheartedly!
Authenticity requires courage and self-awareness. We cannot die to self until we have ourselves. Masks just prevent both others and our own selves from having relationship. Love your topic!
Alice- Thanks for sharing!
I can echo Susan’s comments about the US. I live in the land of “face” – unbelievers certainly have a face, a mask, an honor, but it comes off when they become believers. We practice group confession here, where even the elders/pastors will share in corporate confession. It’s amazing to see all of their face coming off as they cling to the creator!
I really like this post and think it’s a great message many in the US need to hear. I too want to help women pursue Christ-centered vulnerability.
Thank you, Vanessa! I appreciate your comment! 🙂
Great post, Julie. And one we can all relate to. Who doesn’t wear a mask to fit in or hide pain or to protect ourselves. It is sad that careless words said to a child start this process. I know I hid behind masks for years because I thought I had to be perfect to be loved. But like you mentioned, we only begin to heal and be ourselves when we pull off our masks and are vulnerable with others and our self. This is a message we need to teach our children. To be themselves and be vulnerable and realize when they are wearing masks. That they can not please everyone and that sins and mistakes are not the end of the world. But most of all that our enemy wants to always feel we are not good enough. Thanks for sharing and helping others.
Theresa- thank you for sharing your wisdom! I agree, our kids need to hear this message!
Great post, Julie. Sharing this on social media!
Thanks, Sarah!
This is a beautiful testimony, Julie! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Kelly!
Yes!!! God wants and needs us to be authentic and vulnerable.
You can’t reach others or get healed if you are constantly pretending.
LaToya- exactly! Thanks for stopping!
Oh, Julie — ((Hug)) What a gift your vulnerability is. Thank you for being so candid, and for being you. Love your beautiful spirit and am so glad you’re living mask-free. Thank you for sharing, friend. xoxo (P.S., has your site always had this pretty purple writing while typing the comment? Or am I just noticing it? Love the purple. 🙂 )
Brenda- thank you for your words of encouragement! Not sure about the purple, but I’ll take it. My favorite color is purple 🙂
This is so amazing Julie! Talk about being genuine and talking about this. I think we all wear a mask of some sort at least through some period of our lives. We don’t realize when we start believing the lies that we find ourselves needing to hide for protection. This seems to be some theme in my life lately, I love how God works like that, everything works together to reveal what God is speaking to you very individually. I love this post and will pin and share on FB within the next week. Many Thanks 8)
Thanks, Debra! I’m glad this post spoke to you! THank you for sharing!
Ouch! What a powerful truth – When the mask becomes our messiah or more important than our messiah, we are in trouble.
Kristi- I’m glad you stopped 🙂
Love this, Julie. All of the listed had some part in my own mask. How could we ever think wearing one will help? But I think half the time I didn’t realize it. The mask was masked! The other half was a process of coming clean. Thanks for sharing this helpful post.
Meg- Thank you for your encouragement!