One of the biggest struggles with self-identity is believing you are smart enough and strong enough. The desire to be smart and strong are natural instincts, but I believe they are also validated in society and how you were raised by your parents. So often kids show off to their friends trying to see who is smarter or tougher so they can feel superior and be acknowledged.

I know there have been many times in my life when I didn’t feel smart enough, either because I didn’t get the grade I wanted in a class or because I made a bad choice that ended up costing me a lot of money or causing pain. Additionally, I’ve felt like I wasn’t strong enough, either physically or spiritually to have the discipline needed to complete a task or to avoid temptation. Feeling like you are not smart enough or strong enough is not a symptom of childhood that you grow out of, rather it is something you have to figure out how to overcome.

For me, it came down to defining what was enough and who was setting the bar that told me that I’d hit the mark. When I let society tell me or allowed other people to define what was enough, then I often felt the opposite of smart and strong. It was when I realized that it is God, my Creator who gets to define what is enough and that He created me to be enough, that I began to feel smart and strong. I understood that I might not be as smart as the person who finds the cure to cancer, but I am smart enough. And I am not strong enough to lift 100lbs, but that doesn’t mean I am not strong; plus why do I need to lift 100lbs anyways? So on those days when you begin to feel like you are not enough, remember God created a masterpiece in you!