Finding Yourself in 2024 and Beyond

‘Finding yourself‘: TV, books and social media platforms buzz with this idea. We are created in the image of God, and when we lose our calling as Sons and Daughters of God, we lose ourselves. The desperate hunt for ‘finding yourself’ begins, and the chase of finding yourself in worldly success, material possessions, travel, and relationships unravels.

To feed the dull, searching ache for more, you do what you think you should do to find success. The process is frighteningly slow. To be or not to be this or that, to try this course, or run this marathon, or begin a side bustle – improve, explore, prove, adventure, make your mark, move, stay busy, focus, invent yourself, make enough so you can travel, buy this or that, self care, self improvement, self regulation, get approval and satisfaction: And happiness will – ?

‘Finding yourself’: All is silent and empty and open; the room of longing is dark. We’re always left loose, hanging on when and if. Trusting the process, when we may never meet the result? I speak plainly because I’ve trusted the process, made thousands but I know that vacant, blue, slow hunger I’m left with that always says ‘more’ and no matter how much I pour, I’m left bruised, abandoned by desire.

And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.  But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. Mark 4:13-20

But what if there was a better way of living, a better way of ‘finding yourself’, a way that meant the wide open desire for more was not granted by material possessions or thousands of dollars, or by travel or friendships? The more is our longing for Christ, which we are created for. The more is His spirit living within us, the More is Christ in us the Hope of Glory. The more is accepting Christ, believing in Him, being forgiven of our sins and fearing Christ in everything we do. The more is being rooted in His love and in His word alone. The more is loving as He has loved us. The more is living peacefully, humbly, loving others more than we love ourselves.

Our habits, thoughts, conversations, locations, actions form us into who we are: Roots build the foundation of our lives.

How often do you and I resist going deep enough in our own minds and hearts to question how much we earnestly desire to fear God and glorify Him? Are we grounded in God’s word and rooted in His love?

Even on a microscopic everyday level, we are His. In the corner of circumstances, glimmers of beauty in the mundane arise – glorious glimpses of eternity awaiting.

You will truly ‘find yourself’ when you realise you are His, created for a purpose, to glorify God. 1 Peter 2:9

Inspired by Mark 4, I journalled attempting to understand the health of the soil and roots in my own life…

To hear, 

To accept,

To bear fruit: 

This is good soil. 

Why do you not 

Hear,

Accept and 

Bear fruit?

The seed is planted

The seed is opening

The seed is growing –

Choked by weeds or established deep?

Journal Prompts for deeply finding yourself in God

Where am I resisting going deeper in my faith with God? Do I fear Him and put Him first in everything – work, family and personal life?

What are the roots of my life – my thoughts, habits and actions – on a daily basis? What needs deeper rooting, and what weeds are choking good roots?

Realistically, could I cut back and read the bible instead for that extra time spent scrolling on social media?

You may also enjoy:

Why We Need to Stop Rushing and Slow Down

Unlock Your Creativity: The Power of Mindmapping

Life Re-set Checklist: Journalling Prompts