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How to Conquer Imposter Syndrome

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“Imposter Syndrome” is that feeling of inadequacy we all feel when we’re overwhelmed by our calling. Because God always calls us to something bigger than ourselves. He calls us to something we can’t do without him.

So often, this is our first response to God’s calling on our lives. And, believe me, imposter syndrome, feeling inadequate for the task, continues to pop up over and over again. Because, in ourselves, we are inadequate for the task. God is the one who makes it work.

The Whispers of the Enemy

Who am I to do this?”

When the enemy talks to us, he disguises his voice as ours so we don’t recognize his lies as coming from external to ourselves. And he talks to us in the first person, so we think his lies are our own thoughts.

He won’t say, “Who are you to do this?” in a Darth Vader voice. He’ll say, “Who am I to do this?” in our own voice, so we don’t recognize him, and we think it’s our own thought. If we think it’s our own thought, we’re quicker to agree with it. And when we agree with his lies, that’s where he gets power over us.

That’s imposter syndrome. And it’s the whisper of the enemy.

  • “I can’t raise a child.”
  • “I can’t write a book.”
  • “I can’t do this job.”
  • “I can’t be a pastor.”
  • “I could never actually do that thing that makes my heart sing.”

If you feel like this, you’re not alone.

All Over the Bible

Everyone, Christians and non-Christians alike, have dealt with this, from the beginning of time. There are examples all over the Bible. Here are just a few:

  • Moses: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11)
  • Gideon: “How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” (Judges 6:15)
  • Saul: They inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man [Saul] come here yet?” And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” (1 Samuel 10:22)
  • Jeremiah: “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” (Jeremiah 1:6)
  • Esther: “… any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned, the king has but one law: that they be put to death …” (Esther 4:11)
  • Peter: “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8)

So if you feel like you’re in over your head, and you can’t possibly do that thing that makes your heart sing, you’re in good company.

Partnership with God

We feel imposter syndrome when we realize God is calling us to something bigger than ourselves, that we can’t do on our own. Which is actually the point. He wants to do it in partnership with us.

But we have to do our part. If we give up, we tie God’s hands.

What if, when we get to heaven, we see all the resources God had lined up to help us, all ready to fall like dominoes at just the right time when we needed them. But it never happened because we never pushed over the first domino. I don’t want to live in eternal regret, do you?

How to Conquer Imposter Syndrome

When God, from the burning bush, calls Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, Moses’ first response is classic imposter syndrome. Who am I to do this? I can’t do this!

“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” — Exodus 3:11

God’s response to Moses, and all the others mentioned in the bullets above, is the cure for imposter syndrome. God’s common answer is, “I will be with you.”

“I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” – Exodus 3:12

The cure for imposter syndrome is worship. Intimacy. Spending time with God. Being with the one who will be with you.

When, through intimacy with him as a lifestyle, we get to the place where we know that we know that God has called us, we can say with Moses, “If you’re not going with us, we’re not going” (Exodus 33:15, my paraphrase). But with his presence, we can do anything.

When you feel inadequate for the task, spend intimate one-on-one time with the One who’s calling you to the task.

The cure to imposter syndrome is spending time with the One who longs to spend time with us.

Your Turn

Does this resonate?

Have you felt imposter syndrome? What has it kept you from doing? Or have you conquered it? Either way, tell us in the comments. And please share this post if it would bless others.

How to Explain Our Calling to Others

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Sometimes, the hardest thing about our calling is explaining it to others, especially our family or people we’re close to. Sometimes even our church family can be difficult. Often, fear of man is at the root of it.

Even Moses struggled with fear of man. When God was talking with him from the burning bush, Moses brought it up twice:

“Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” – Exodus 3:13

“What if they [the Israelites] do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” – Exodus 4:1

Moses was more afraid of unbelief from the Israelites than he was from the Egyptians. Isn’t that true with us too? Internal opposition is often scarier than external opposition.

Fear of Man: How Do I Explain this to Others? What If They Don’t Believe Me?

Does our fear of man manifest itself most in the fear of what our family will think? Those closest to us? Maybe even our church family?

God gives Moses a 3-fold strategy. The same strategy will work for us too. That doesn’t mean our family or loved ones are guaranteed to believe or support us in our calling. That’s on them. But the strategy God gave Moses is an excellent starting place.

(1) Invite them into a Story

“Story” is the most powerful communication tool in the world. That’s why Jesus told parables (one reason at least). Think of the best sermon or speaker you’ve ever heard. You may or may not remember what their points were, but I bet you remember the stories they told.

A story hooks us because, when there are two possible outcomes, success or failure, we have to know which happens. The two possible outcomes in a story are called the stakes. The stakes are what stands to be won or lost if the hero succeeds or fails. Painting the stakes is an invitation for the listener to step into the story.

God tells Moses to tell the Israelites that he’s seen their suffering and will bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:16-17).

God paints the stakes: the Israelites’ current suffering as slaves in Egypt versus a land of their own flowing with milk and honey. He’s inviting the Israelites to step into this story.

This is a strategy for us to explain our calling to those closest to us, spouse, family, etc. Paint the stakes. What is to be lost if you don’t follow God’s calling, and what is to be gained if you do?

Invite them into the story. Where do they fit? How can they help? What part in this story are you inviting them to play?

(2) God’s Working in Your Life

Then, if the Israelites don’t believe him, God gives Moses 3 signs to perform (Exodus 4:2-9):

  1. His staff turned into a snake (and back again).
  2. His hand became leprous (and clean again).
  3. He poured water from Nile on the ground and it became blood.

Two of the signs, turning the staff into a snake and turning the water to blood, represent the miraculous things God has worked in your life. Those who don’t believe may call them coincidences, but we who believe know it could only have been God.

Here’s an example:

I was talking to a family member, who doesn’t believe in God, about Janet and I moving into our current house. The “coincidences” and timing lined up so perfectly it could only have been God.

We moved from Stafford, VA, to neighboring Fredericksburg. The Fredericksburg housing market rarely has houses come up for sale, and they go fast. So I was prepping Janet that, after selling our old house, we might need to put stuff in storage and live in an apartment for 12-18 months until we found a place.

That would’ve been the typical way such a move would work, but God had other plans.

We put our old house on the market on Friday and had it sold by Monday. We had 3 offers over the weekend, and accepted a full price offer with no points requested by the buyer. That doesn’t happen. Except it did.

We did a rent-back for 4 weeks so we could find another place, which I knew wouldn’t work. It would take at least a couple weeks to find a place (probably a temporary apartment). But if we actually found a house, closings are minimum 30 days, if not 45 or 60 days. So, regardless, we were going to have to make two moves.

We found our new house in about 7-10 days, and I was shocked to find it fit our budget. We made an offer, with the seller paying all the points, which he accepted. That doesn’t happen. Except it did.

But to only make 1 move, the closing company would have to do the closing in 21 days. That doesn’t happen. Except it did.

We made one move, from the old to the new, did not have to live in any temporary housing, and did not pay any points on either sale. That doesn’t happen. Except it did.

My family member said, “Wow, what a lot of coincidences, that’s amazing!”

I said, “That had to be God. There’s no way all of that could have happened with God orchestrating it.”

He can believe what he wants. But Janet and I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, God moved us to Fredericksburg.

(3) God’s Healing in Your Life

The other sign God gave Moses, his hand turning leprous and then clean again, represents God’s healing in your life.

What has God done for you? What has he brought you through? How has he healed you? Your testimony is part of your story. Your calling is a continuation of your story.

There are lots of types of healing, physical, emotional, relational, etc. Depending on how sensitive it is, you don’t have to tell everyone. But, if it’s appropriate, based on the relationship you have with the other person, what you’ve been healed from can be a powerful point in favor of your calling.

Invitations Can Be Refused

A great way to explain our calling to family members is by using this 3-fold strategy God gave Moses:

  1. Paint the stakes.
  2. How God has worked in your life.
  3. The healing God has brought you through.

But it is not a guarantee. The Israelites did believe Moses (Exodus 4:29-31), temporarily, until it got hard (Exodus 6:9).

Invitations can be refused. We need to honor our loved ones by giving them that option. Even when our calling has an obvious role for them to play, their fear may stop them. Their unbelief may stop them. Or something may be holding them back.

But, even if they refuse, you press on. You follow your calling. God may win them over somewhere along the way in the future. Don’t let anyone derail the calling of God on your life.

Your Turn

Are you struggling to explain your calling to close friends, family members, or your church community? Or have you figured it out? Please tell us in the comments; it will help others. And please share this post if it would bless other people.

The Only Response that Angers God

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The Bible is full of people making excuses to get out of what God’s calling them to do, including Jonah, Gideon, Saul, Moses, even Ananias in the New Testament (Acts 9), and many others. We do it too. I think it’s usually out of fear. God always calls us to something we can’t do without him, something bigger than ourselves.

Look at Moses. He makes a lot of excuses to get out of God’s calling (Exodus 3-4). And God is fine with all of them, having an answer for them, talking Moses through them.

All the Excuses

“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” — Exodus 3:11

We call this “Imposter Syndrome.” It’s that feeling of inadequacy we all feel when we realize God’s called us to something bigger than ourselves, that we can’t do on our own. Which is actually the point. He wants to do it in partnership with us.

I’ll go into this more in a future blog, but God’s answer is simply, “I will be with you” (Exodus 9:12). The cure to imposter syndrome is spending time with the One who longs to spend time with us.

“Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” – Exodus 3:13

“What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” – Exodus 4:1

Fear of man. Moses actually brings this up twice. God is not angry at Moses for this, but gives Moses a strategy (signs to perform).

“I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” – Exodus 4:10

Translation: “I’m terrified of public speaking, and I stutter. I am genetically flawed and physically incapable of doing this.”

God’s not angry at Moses for this one either. God’s answer is partnership. “I’m bigger than your stutter. We’ll walk through this together.” (Exodus 4:11, my paraphrase)

The Response that Angers God

There is only one response Moses ultimately gives that angers God.

Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” – Exodus 4:13

Moses essentially tells God, “No.” And that is the one word that angers God.

The Lord’s anger burned against Moses. – Exodus 4:14a

God is fine with all of our excuses and objections. He will help us work through them. It’s perfectly fine to put a fleece out and say, “God, if you want me to do this, I need a solution to this problem.” Then, if the call you’re trying to follow is truly God, he will either remove the problem or give you a strategy for it.

But the one thing that ticks God off is when we say, “No, I’m not doing that.” This is not confusion about whether it’s really God or no, or just plain not knowing what to do next. This is overtly saying, “I know this is what God’s calling me to do, but I’m not doing it.”

And yet, even then, God gave Moses a solution.

“What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.” – Exodus 4:14b-16

Even after Moses told God “no,” God had grace for Moses. And he has grace for you.

God gives us the help we think we need to get over the hump, even if we don’t really need it.

Moses Says “Yes”

Talked out of all his excuses, Moses finally says yes. Eventually, Moses didn’t need Aaron to speak for him. Check out this (abbreviated) sequence of events:

  • Aaron speaks for Moses to the elders of Israel (Exodus 4:29-31).
  • Aaron speaks for Moses to Pharaoh and performs the first few miracles and plagues (Exodus 5-8).
  • Moses begins speaking directly to the elders of Israel (Exodus 6:9).
  • Moses begins to answer Pharaoh directly, when Pharaoh asks for relief from the frogs (Exodus 8:9-10).
  • Moses, not Aaron, begins initiating the plagues, starting with the plague of boils by tossing ashes in the air in front of Pharaoh (Exodus 9:10).
  • Moses goes to Pharaoh alone, and answers Pharaoh directly when Pharaoh tries to work a compromise after the plague of darkness (Exodus 10:24-26).
  • Moses finally initiates conversation with Pharaoh, about the plague on the firstborn, and storms out of  Pharaoh’s presence, hot with anger (Exodus 11:4-8).

Moses grew into the person God knew he was all along. And so will you.

Your Turn

Are you struggling stepping into the call of God on your life? Have you told God, “no”? Or have you said “yes” to something that was scary and seemed impossible, but God moved and it worked out? Tell us in the comments. Your sharing will help someone else. And please share this post if it would bless others.