Break The Mold

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The World’s Mold

Going to check my phone, I take a deep breath, fearful of the messages I may find there.

Your eyebrows look like caterpillars.

You’ve been brainwashed into believing in Jesus.

Your singing makes my ears bleed.

You’re too over the top.

You don’t have to love Jesus that much.

You’re crazy.

My appearance has been criticized. My smile has been ridiculed. My faith has been mocked publicly. Tears burn my eyes as the voices shout their perverted, unkind, and disrespectful statements. On some occasions, I have taken a second look in the mirror, finding myself for a moment questioning my worth. Even if these words are not accurate, I can begin to believe them if I don’t know what is true. I can feel like I need to conform to the mold the world tells me I should fit into. Pleasing people can become my focus, tempting me to compromise instead of being the free, unique, and beautiful me that God called me to be.

The hateful words still ring loud and clear, but I ask God to quiet my heart with His love.

Voices

The voices that we listen to will determine the path we take. God made us to do great things, live abundantly, and bring Him glory, but this can only happen when we choose to listen to His voice. The Bible says we have an enemy—Satan—and that his native language is lies (John 8:44). He is a liar who wants us to believe we need to be prettier, stronger, faster, smarter, cooler. The devil wants us to believe that everyone is supposed to like us and that we need to work harder until they do. Every second, the enemy works to keep us down, to keep us feeling like we’re never going to be good enough. He wants us to feel like we must strive to be approved. His twisted mind-set will hold us back from being the beautiful people God knitted us together so purposefully to be (Psalm 139:13-14).

Sometimes, I forget that the real me does not need to be ashamed. I am loved unconditionally, already approved by God. Satan knows that if he can deceive me into believing that my worth is found in what others say about me, then I will miss out on the truth of who I am because of whose I am. Instead, I choose to fill my heart with what God says about me and filter the negative through God’s truth. His Word equips me, and His Spirit empowers me for every good work He’s planned for me (2 Timothy 3:16-17). But to walk in His truth, I must spend time daily nourishing my soul with His Word as I rest in His constant presence.

When I am tempted to conform to the opinions and demands of others, I can choose to cling to the words of God that I have chosen to hide in my heart (Psalm 119:11).

Don’t Conform; Transform

Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” To conform is to “fit the mold of” something acceptable or predetermined. The patterns of this world include whatever feels good, whatever keeps us from avoiding being singled out, whatever is against God’s best for us.

What is the opposite of conforming? To transform. To reshape, rebuild, or rearrange. When we submit ourselves to God, a reshaping of our thought process begins to take place, just like a caterpillar transforming into a stunning butterfly. Because God loves me so much, He is willing to meet me where I am, but He loves me too much to leave me there. By standing on God’s Word, we have the authority to abolish every deceiving pattern that the enemy might have crafted to destroy our uniqueness and distract us from the life God designed us to live. Fitting in truly wasn’t meant to be our goal. God has set us apart.

The beautiful process of hearing, believing, and obeying God’s Word so we can begin living out who God called us to be is called transformation, and it doesn’t happen overnight. Through the journey of daily discovering who He is and who we are in Him, we begin to seek what God says about us, and the rebuilding, reshaping, and renewing starts to take place. Delighting in His truth, we can joyfully be the people God created us to be. Like a caterpillar, we were made to be transformed. We were made to soar in God’s will, even when the world is going the other way (Isaiah 40:31). It’s time to turn away from letting our identity be rooted in who the world says we are.

It’s time to break the mold and embrace the joy of living all caps for God.