Your “Liability” is God’s Asset

Have you ever heard a word or phrase that hit home so much that it seemed like it was written on your heart in permanent marker?

I have. The word was strategist. It was the one word that stood out to me the most from a prophetic word that a very well-known and well-respected prophet gave to me one year during our annual leadership conference. As I stood there pondering what had been spoken over me, I started to see why the word strategist struck me as significant.

Allow me to give you some back story. For years, I struggled with feeling that I was a negative person. I could never figure it out, because I am naturally an encourager. I love to encourage people any time I have the chance. Because of this, I didn’t label myself as a pessimist, but I did tend to easily see potential problems or, more specifically, the way plans wouldn’t work. It came quite naturally to me. But the way people around me often reacted caused me to constantly doubt myself. I would tell myself to be more positive, that everything would work out fine. But all too often I would feel guilty and faithless, as if what I saw lying ahead prompted me to not take a position of faith. This was a constant struggle for me. I often wondered, God, why did You make me this way? It was something that I could never quite figure out—until that night when I received that prophetic word.

My Liability Turned into an Asset

As I continued to reflect on the prophetic word, I asked the Lord, “What does strategist mean, and why does it seem so significant to me?” The Lord began to remind me that He made me on purpose for a purpose. Then God began to shift my perspective so that I could get a better understanding of my purpose through my unique personality. I like to say that He began to pull back the curtain. He showed me that a strategist is someone skilled in planning and systematically applying solutions. The key word here is solutions. It was never about the problems, but about His solutions. The problems were just a pathway to help me discover His wisdom, to enable me to employ the right solutions for various systems, situations, and circumstances.

That day my perception changed. I discovered that God created me to more readily identify problems because He has gifted me to be a problem solver. You can’t solve a problem that you don’t know exists. Developing a solution is always dependent on identifying the problem first. But I had never considered that the one who can see the problem can also be the one who is gifted with the ability to solve the problem.

I quickly realized my error! What I thought was a flaw was actually a gift in disguise. No problem on earth is without a solution, but I have to go deeper into my relationship with God to access the divine wisdom I need. I discovered that I can create and give solutions. That simple divine insight into how I was made caused me to reconsider my self-perception. What I had imagined to be a liability was really just a lie about my ability. The devil, who is full of lies, will often try to lie to you about who you are and what you are capable of. The scripture says that he is the father of lies, and there is no truth in him (see John 8:44). Maybe he has lied to you about your ability. But remember, the devil is not your creator. God is your Creator, and He is the only one who knows the full scope of your potential through the agency of your personality.

A good example of this is Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and co-creator of Facebook. With almost three billion users to date, Facebook is one of the most widely used social media platforms ever built. But it all started because Zuckerberg identified a problem. He noticed that Google was great for searching the news, and Wikipedia was great for searching for reference material, but there was no platform for searching and learning about other people. The solution he created, which was prompted by identifying a specific problem, is now affecting billions of people around the world. That one solution changed his life and his wallet. We can see now that he was created with a gift to solve a specific problem, and that insight turned into one of the most lucrative solutions in modern history.

This is what is happening with many people today. They don’t understand why they were created the way they were created, so their ignorance darkens their perception of themselves. I wrote this encouragement to help you get a fresh perspective on your personality and a clear understanding of how you were created. Knowledge changes behavior. When you know who you are, you behave differently.

Perhaps people or situations in your past have made you feel like you are “too much” of this or “not enough” of that. Here are some common criticisms that you might be able to identify with:

• You’re being too optimistic.

• You’re too daring or careless.

• You have compulsive behaviors.

• You overthink things.

• You’re too nice.

• You always treat everything like it’s a joke. Not everything is funny.

• You’re just so strong/bossy/controlling all the time.

• You’re so serious all the time; lighten up.

• You’re so happy all the time; chill.

• You are so nonchalant about everything. Nothing ever affects you.

• All you care about is school/work/your business. You are too driven.

It can be discouraging to hear these comments. It casts a continual shadow of doubt on our proclivities. However, each one of these traits can be a valuable asset when placed in the right circumstance. People who are unfazed by or nonchalant about what happens around them can be a great asset when working in emergency response. Others who find humor in life can create pockets of laughter in the midst of discouraging situations and give those who are struggling a jolt of happiness. Your temperament is valuable. The value just needs to be discovered.

Learning more about myself gave me more confidence in who I am and what I’ve been created to do. I believe that as you read this, the same will happen for you. Remember, not everyone will understand you, but you don’t have to change who you are to be desired. Of course, we should always look to improve ourselves, but there is a difference between making improvements and being an imposter. You must be authentic. Authenticity is always in high demand. Life’s experiences help us realize our code of authenticity.

God Chose the Right Person

Jesus reminded His disciples of this truth, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide...” (John 15:16 ESV). Let’s never get this confused: We didn’t choose God. He chose us. Then He assigned us a purpose. You did not pick out your divine purpose, nor did you pick out various aspects of your personality. You may think that your desires or specific passions were just randomly acquired. No, my friend! God placed many of those passions inside you. Nobody goes to the superstore of Heaven and says, “I’m going to choose this talent, and I want a little artistic ability, and I want to be a world-class athlete too.” No. He put your gifts in you as it pleased Him.

You have been specially selected and uniquely equipped. God wants to work through your personality to enable you to fulfill your purpose. God refines us daily to help us get better. We’re always working on something—love, patience, wisdom, walking in peace, training our bodies, acquiring new knowledge, not going off on our kids, and so forth. We all can improve in some areas. And that’s a good thing. We are all in pursuit of something. But keep in mind that we are deliberately designed.

You have been chosen for this moment in history to use your ability to help manifest God’s Kingdom here on the earth. God knew of the wisdom, guidance, and skills that would be needed for our current times. He even knew how to package it so that the people you encounter will receive it. (I’ll share more on that in my book, Authentic: The Confidence to Be Yourself, the Courage to Release Your Greatness.)

Think about this: You could have been born during any time in history, but God waited until now to birth you into the earth. He did so because the world is currently in desperate need of what you carry. The gift, ability, and talent that rests inside of you is not just something; it is the thing that humanity needs, your community needs, the marketplace needs, your school needs, and your family needs. We can’t do without what you carry, or we will suffer. If you hide what you carry, then you go against God’s divine plan. Unknowingly, you hinder His will from being done in your family and in the world. It’s time to let God expose the real you to the world.

Society needs the authentic you, because your authenticity carries purpose and power. I like to describe one’s purpose as the path of authenticity. The intrinsic qualities that you possess are a result of the specific purpose that was designed for you. But to understand the authentic purpose and path, you have to understand the authentic you.