Do you ever feel like that thing you are called to do in life is so vastly different than anything anyone around you is doing? Maybe it feels unimportant by the world standard. Maybe your friends don’t get it. Maybe it even makes you feel like you don’t fit in. But still, you hear His voice calling you to chase after that stirring. I know I do.

This week, I read a verse that reminded me that God must have known we would feel this way at times. That we needed the encouragement to stand firm and pursue Him regardless of what the world insists on.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (The Passion Translation) says: “So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; He’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; He is most careful with you.”

I don’t know about you but hearing those words is like receiving a personal memo directly from Him saying “It’s okay to look different. It’s okay to see the world through my eyes and chase MY will for your life! Rejoice in it and live carefree, because My hand is on you!”

I wish someone had pulled me aside years ago with this encouragement. Though, at that time, I likely wouldn’t have believed it. My young heart was full of such hesitancy and rejection. In fact, It had less to do with how I felt about myself than how others were beginning to make me feel. I never seemed to belong. I was picked on and bullied for years growing up. And the greatest point of mockery was always because I didn’t go along. I didn’t make fun of other kids, I always included everyone, and I was.. to the best of my ability, a good kid. And that’s not to say those other kids weren’t good or wouldn’t turn out to be.. but a child can only endure so many names and so much exclusion before they begin to wonder what IS so wrong with them. I never understood it.

All these years later, I can see how God was positioning me. Unexpectedly. He was building my foundation; piece by piece. I remember coming home in tears one day. One of the girls sent a mutual friend to tell me that her birthday party got cancelled. I heard them all snickering nearby.. as the birthday girl told the others her mother MADE her invite me. And I knew the party wasn’t cancelled. They just didn’t want me there. I was probably around 12 years old. This was just one of many such incidents. But it was enough to break my heart. That night, mom sat me down and shared scripture with me. I’ll never forget.

She showed me where in the Bible it says to turn the other cheek. At the time, I didn’t understand how she could tell me these things and not come to my defense… but looking back I’m so thankful she did what she did. She did not make me a victim or enable similar behavior. She pointed me to Truth in that moment. And every moment before and since. It was all a part of my foundation. One built on the Word of God and not on the acceptance of man. (Or in my case, all the other girls).

So, when I came across this translation of this verse, it resonated all the way down into the heart of that little girl in me. “Be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; He’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; He is most careful with you.” That little-girl-me feels God’s promise in that. His strong hand is on me. And on you, too. He’ll promote you at the right time. And, sweet friends, God doesn’t lie. He is most careful with you.

This promise was just as relevant then as it is now, in adulthood. As a woman surrounded by the noise and distraction and demands of this broken world, this is the perfect soothing reminder to a tired heart. It is a reminder to be content. Be authentic. Live life based on the foundation of Biblical Truth and you will be carefree.

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