02 | Doubting Your Calling? 3 Truths about Your Identity in Christ to Step Out with Confidence

Have you ever felt clear about what God’s calling you to do, but still found yourself doubting whether you can actually do it? Maybe you keep second-guessing yourself, holding back, or even starting to question the calling itself. In today’s episode, I’m sharing three truths about your identity in Christ that can help you overcome doubt and grow in confidence to step into your calling, or keep moving forward in it. 

Do you want clarity and confidence to walk in your unique life purpose, but find yourself struggling because you don’t know what God is calling you to do, or because doubt is holding you back? Then you’re in the right place.

Hi, I’m Arris, wife, mom, writer, and life purpose coach. I walked the path to find clarity about my purpose, overcome doubt, and step into my calling. And now, God has called me to help you find yours and walk in it.

If you’re ready to find clarity about your purpose, grow more confident in who you are, and live out your calling in the middle of real life, join the conversation, and let’s get Candid on Calling. 

Before we get started, if you know that doubt or the way you see yourself has been making it harder to move forward, I have a free guide to help you grow in clarity and confidence about your identity in Christ.

You’ll learn 10 shifts in focus that can help you see yourself more the way God sees you, along with two simple tools to help you renew your mind and stop holding back from what God is calling you to do. You can grab the free guide at liveinspiredbypurpose.com/identity or through the link in the show notes. 

When I finally had the clarity I’d been praying for, I was so excited to know my calling.

I started making plans to do what God was leading me to do, and then I found myself stuck. 

Fear was getting in the way of moving forward. I kept second-guessing myself and avoiding things. And I wasn’t just doubting myself; I was also beginning to doubt my calling. I wondered if the vision I had was really from God, or if it was just something that I wanted, and from where I stood, there was no way I could do what God was asking me to do. I’d tried things in the past and failed. I didn’t see myself as the type of person who could do something like this, so I stayed with whatever felt safe. 

Having clarity about my calling wasn’t enough to help me move forward fully, but as time passed and I grew in my relationship with God and really began to understand His truth and my identity in Christ, I began to realize I wasn’t who I thought I was. I was who God said I was, and I began to see that even when I had doubts and fears, and even when things were hard, I could still do what God was leading me to do.

What I started to learn is that confidence to step into your calling isn’t only about what you believe you can do; it’s also about who you believe you are. 

So, I want to share three truths about your identity in Christ that can help you overcome doubt and grow in confidence to step into the calling God is leading you toward.

So, here’s truth number one:

Your past does not define who you are or what God can do through you. 

Sometimes we continue to define ourselves by experiences, failures, or labels from our past. 

So, you might think, 

• I’ve always been shy.
• I’ve just been a wife and a mom. 
• I’ve only done this one job. 
• I could never be a leader.
• I never finish what I start. 
• I’ve made too many mistakes. 
• I’ve tried something before and failed.
• I’ll probably just fail again. 
• God can’t use me to do this. 

But 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that if anyone is in Christ, you’re a new creation. The old has gone, and the new has come. 

So, your past is part of your story, but it does not get the final word on your next chapter about who you are or what you can do in Christ. 

When you look to your past as the main evidence of who you are and what you can do today, you’re relying on an old version of yourself to decide what’s possible for you right now.

God may be calling you forward to step out, but you’re still looking backward to decide whether you’re capable of the calling. 

So, pay attention to the old statements you still use to describe yourself, and ask yourself: What am I still using from my past to define who I am today? 

Then try to separate that experience from the way you’ve let it define your identity. 

Maybe the fact is I failed at something, but the message you keep repeating to yourself is I’m a failure. But the truth is, not succeeding at one thing doesn’t mean you can’t succeed at something else or even at the same thing in a different season of life if God is calling you to do it. 

So, begin bringing those old messages about who you are before God and replacing them with the truth of who you are in Christ. 

And truth number two: 

Your self-talk, limitations, or struggles do not determine who you are or what God can lead you to do.

We can also take what we’re thinking or experiencing right now and turn it into a label about who we are. 

You might be thinking,

• I’m not smart enough, 
• There’s nothing special about me, or 
• I’m not good enough,
• I don’t think anyone will care what I think, 
• I don’t feel confident, 
• I don’t know enough, 
• I’m not ready, 
• I’m too old–it’s too late, 
• My life feels too complicated right now. 

And without realizing it, these thoughts can start to turn into the deeper belief of “I’m not capable.” And when you believe that’s true, it can hold you back from stepping into what God is calling you to do. But none of those thoughts mean you can’t do what God may be leading you to do. 

Your feelings, assumptions about yourself, and challenges in life may influence how you see yourself, but they don’t define who you are or how God can use you.

Who you are in Christ is not changed by what you think about yourself, what you lack, or what you’re struggling through right now. When you let a perceived shortcoming or a current struggle define who you are, it can make you doubt whether you can really do what God is calling you to do. It’s important to be intentional about recognizing those thoughts and replacing them with the truth.

So, begin to separate what you feel and experience from what you’re telling yourself that it means about you. 

Ask yourself, am I defining myself by what I’m feeling or going through? 

For example, you might tell yourself, I’m too old–it’s too late. But your age doesn’t automatically mean it’s too late for God to call you into something new.

Notice the message you’re believing about yourself, then bring it back to the truth of who you are in Christ. 

And begin practicing seeing yourself through God’s truth rather than through the thoughts or the circumstances that might be influencing how you see yourself right now. 

And truth number three: 

In Christ, you are not limited to what you can do on your own.

When you think about what God may be calling you to do, it’s easy to start wondering whether you can actually do it. 

But being in Christ means you were never meant to walk alone in your calling or rely on your own ability, strength, or confidence. Jesus tells us in John 15:5 that apart from Him, we can do nothing. As we abide in Him, He works in and through us. 

Our confidence was never meant to be found in ourselves or in what we believe we can do. Instead, it’s meant to be rooted in Christ and in what He can do through us.

If you decide what’s possible for your future based only on what you think you can do today in your own strength, you might shrink back from something God wants you to do. 

God sees the future that you can’t see. He can guide you, prepare you, grow you, and equip you as you continue walking in Him.

So instead of asking, can I do this? Start asking, what step is God asking me to take with Him?

Stay close to God. Seek His direction. Take the step you can see now and trust Him to continue to grow, equip, and lead you as you move forward.

In Christ, you aren’t walking in your calling alone. He’s with you every step of the way. 

So if you’re doubting your calling, remember that your past does not define who you are or what God can do through you. What you’re thinking, facing, or struggling with doesn’t really determine at all who you are or what God can lead you to do. And because you’re in Christ, you don’t have to rely only on what you can do on your own. 

Building confidence doesn’t just come from what you believe you can do.

It also grows from who you believe you are in Christ. So pay attention to the thoughts and the feelings and the experiences that may be influencing how you see yourself. Don’t let them become labels for who you are or make you think that there are limits to what God can call you to do.

Instead, just keep coming back to the truth of who you are in Christ. Draw close to Him and trust Him with your next step. Confidence to step out in your calling grows when you see yourself the way God sees you.

And remember, if you’re ready to see yourself more clearly through the truth of who you are in Christ and stop letting doubt hold you back, grab my free guide on Knowing Your Identity in Christ. You can get the free guide at liveinspiredbypurpose.com/identity or through the link in the show notes. I’m so glad you joined me today.

If you know someone who could benefit from this conversation, I hope you’ll share this episode with her. And if Candid on Calling is helpful to you, I’d be so grateful if you’d leave a review. Your words can help this podcast reach more women.

Until next time, keep living inspired by purpose.