God’s Way: A Journey of Self-Discovery

Everyone wonders who they are at some point in their life. As a part of God’s Church, you can know not only who you are—but who you can be!

Who are you?

It’s likely that you’ve asked and tried to answer that question for yourself. As one attending God’s Church, you may have used terms such as “Christian, good person, friend, etc.” to describe the type of person that you are.

Whenever we look at ourselves, there is a verse of the Bible that we need to keep in mind: “The heart is deceitful” (Jeremiah 17:9). The danger of using our heart to understand ourselves is that it can make us a victim of self-deception.

An examination

For a truthful look at who we are, we must look into the Bible. We are told to use God’s Word as a mirror to truly understand ourselves—how we are doing and where we need to grow (James 1:22-25).

God commands His people to examine themselves and their actions (1 Corinthians 11:28; 2 Corinthians 13:5; Galatians 6:4). When we look at ourselves with the Bible, we can see where we are and how we can improve through the process of repentance (Acts 3:19). (Our booklet Change Your Life! goes through these steps in more detail.)

Who you can be

As a potential member of God’s Church, you can learn an aspect of your identity that few know about—who you can be. Most people go through life unaware of the awesome potential that they have as human beings made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27).

It sounds astonishing no matter how many times you hear it, but you can become a divine spirit being in the family of God (1 John 3:1-2)!

With that potential in mind, we should be working on developing His character in our lives now. In order to be in the God family, we have to grow in demonstrating the character traits of our Father and elder Brother, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:13). It may seem impossible, but we can develop the character traits of the God of this universe (Mark 10:27)!

Being all you can be

The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) shows that we are called to lead a life of growth, not stagnation. Are you familiar with this parable? If not, read through it and see its importance in your life. Listed below are five things we need to grow spiritually:

• Prayer. The first step in developing God’s character is to ask God (Romans 2:4; James 1:5). Prayer is indispensable for any relationship with God.
• Bible study. While prayer is how we talk to God, Bible study is how God communicates with us. God inspired the Bible to help in many aspects of our growth and development (2 Timothy 3:16).
• Fasting. Fasting can be difficult physically, but as Christ’s example shows (Matthew 4:1-2) it is a powerful tool in growing closer to God and identifying our weaknesses.
• Examination. We need to examine ourselves in order to find out where our weaknesses are and where we need to improve. It’s important to ask God in prayer to help us see ourselves honestly and not sugarcoat our weaknesses (Psalm 19:12).
• Meditation. Meditation is the contemplation of what we learn from our prayer, Bible study, fasting and examination. Deep thought on a matter is often necessary for us to apply it in our lives.

Using these tools for growth, we can become more like God. The path of self-discovery is not always easy, but it is the right path. Take up the challenge of trying these steps—yes, even as a teenager! Will you follow that way of self-discovery? Will you discover your potential to be a part of God’s family?

For more insight on examining ourselves, read “Self Examination: Asking the Hard Questions.”