Have you ever had a caricature drawn of yourself or seen one among another person? The artist exaggerates your features, emphasizing traits that stand out or is perhaps seen as imperfections. The distorted image created entertains but doesn’t reflect your true self.
Like a caricature, the self-image we create often highlights our perceived weaknesses and downplays our actual strengths. This skewed picture is shaded with self-doubt. It doesn’t reflect our true self, created “to do good works, which God prepared prematurely for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).
Midlife is a fruitful time for ladies to pursue these good works and experience God’s goodness in other areas of life. We welcome the opportunities in midlife to live by and share our wisdom, discover latest passions, and revel in our family. However, midlife also brings significant life changes.
New seasons, corresponding to an empty nest or retirement, could cause us to feel like we’ve lost ourselves and our sense of purpose.
New responsibilities like caregiving, funding college, or the training curve of beginning a business or ministry can result in pressure and insecurity in our calling.
New normals because of health and hormone struggles or the lack of family members can fire up fears and uncertainty about our future.
Our doubts deepen as we experience a lot of these while pursuing our calling. Even so, we will still trust God to assist us navigate the intersection of midlife and our calling.
Self-doubt often arises in three common yet critical areas, leading us to query our calling. If we trust our self-perceptions above God’s truth, we hinder our courage, confidence, and clarity.
Let’s explore the lives of Gideon, Jeremiah, and Sarah and God’s responses to their self-doubt.
1. Doubting Your Identity: Am I Enough?
As we step into latest seasons of our calling, it is not uncommon to have doubts about our identity. The result is frequently a lack of confidence and missed opportunities. Gideon faced this doubt when God called him to deliver Israel from the Midianites. He felt inadequate and questioned his role on this latest season of leadership.
The angel of the LORD identified Gideon as a “mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12 NIV). Gideon doubted his identity as a warrior and replied, “But how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I’m the least in my family” (Judges 6:15 NIV). Even after being reassured of the LORD’s presence and victory, he questioned whether God was speaking and would fulfill His guarantees (Judges 6:17, 36-37 NIV).
When your calling leads you into an unfamiliar season, you might are likely to query whether you might be hearing God’s voice or whether He will do what He says. You might relate to how Gideon felt and define your identity based in your weaknesses or the way you compare to others. Feeling inadequate or unprepared could cause you to doubt you might be the suitable person for the duty.
Limiting thoughts corresponding to, “I’ve only been a wife and mom,” “I’ve just done this one job,” or “There’s nothing special about me” might make you wonder how God could select you.
If you trust God together with your feelings of inadequacy, He gives you guidance and confidence, just as He gave Gideon.
During Gideon’s times of doubt, God provided signs to calm his insecurity (Judges 6:17-22, 36-40 NIV). Knowing his fears, God even guided him to secretly take heed to a conversation within the Midianite camp to encourage him (Judges 7:10-15 NIV). God hears us, knows our needs, and helps us to satisfy His calling for our lives.
Israel had 40 years of peace because Gideon stepped out in faith to simply accept and act upon God’s design for his identity (Judges 8:28 NIV).
God’s Response: Trust My Design
Trusting God’s design might help us overcome doubts about our identity and construct confidence. We doubt who we’re after we don’t see ourselves as God does. God’s response to Gideon reminds us we’re enough, just as He created us.
God told Gideon, “Go within the strength you have got,” and “I will probably be with you” (Judges 6:14, 16 NIV). God wanted Gideon to trust that he was a warrior with purpose by design.
Trusting God’s design means embracing the identity He gives us as a substitute of our self-perceptions. As Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV), His “grace is sufficient,” and His power will strengthen us even in our weakness. We can trust the reality of who God says we’re and embrace our purpose in every season.
2. Doubting Your Ability: Do I Have What It Takes?
When our calling introduces latest responsibilities, it’s normal to experience doubt about our ability in some areas. The hesitance this causes often limits our progress. While the people in Jerusalem were in exile, Jeremiah struggled with this doubt when God called him to deliver His messages to the nations. He felt unqualified and doubted his ability to satisfy this immense latest responsibility.
God spoke to Jeremiah, revealing, “I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah doubted his ability to perform his calling and replied, “I have no idea how one can speak; I’m too young” (Jeremiah 1:6 NIV).
Like Jeremiah, you may imagine you should not qualified due to limited experience or the magnitude and weight of your calling. The additional challenges of midlife can deepen doubts, increase stress, and cause you to imagine you can not fulfill your purpose.
Even as a girl of religion, you is perhaps discouraged by thoughts like, “I’m not smart enough,” “I can’t do that,” or “People will judge me.”
If you trust God whenever you feel unqualified or overwhelmed by obstacles, He gives you strength and courage, just as He did for Jeremiah.
The LORD corrected Jeremiah’s doubtful considering, stating, “Do not say, ‘I’m too young,’” and instructed him to follow His commands and never fear the individuals who would fight against him (Jeremiah 1:7-8, 19 NIV). “Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched” Jeremiah’s mouth and said, “I actually have put my words in your mouth” (Jeremiah 1:9 NIV).
God’s presence, provision, and protection gave Jeremiah the courage to persevere in His calling despite intense adversity. As Jeremiah relied on God’s power, he stepped into the power he initially doubted and played an important role in sustaining the religion of a remnant of God’s people.
God’s Response: Trust My Power
Trusting God’s power enables us to dismiss doubts about our ability and step out with courage. Like Jeremiah, we’d doubt what we’re able to after we don’t imagine what God says we will do. God’s support of Jeremiah shows us that His presence and power are enough to pursue our calling.
In Jeremiah’s letter to the surviving exiles, the LORD declared, “For I do know the plans I actually have for you…plans to prosper you and never to harm you, plans to offer you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV). We can trust that God plans to offer us hope and a future through His power and purposes.
Trusting God’s power means believing we’re capable despite limits, opposition, or the complexities of midlife. We can trust the reality of what God says we will do to satisfy our calling.
3. Doubting Your Future: Will God Keep His Promise?
Our calling may bring about latest normals in our lives. Whether we fulfill deep longings or undesired circumstances grow to be a reality, it’s natural to feel doubt about our future. Temptation can arise to drift from God’s intended path and even quit. Sarah experienced this way of doubt when God promised her the brand new normal of motherhood in her old age despite her inability to conceive.
Sarah overheard the LORD’s message to Abraham that she would have a son by the next 12 months. She doubted this future possibility and laughed since she was beyond the age to bear children and so they were each very old, considering, “After I’m worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” (Genesis 18:10-12 NIV)
Much like Sarah, you might find it hard to imagine within the calling and future God guarantees within the face of past disappointments and present realities. As a girl in midlife, you may doubt a latest vision to your life due to your age, physical limitations, or missed opportunities.
You might imagine, “I’m too old, so it’s too late,” “I’ve made too many mistakes,” or “I’ll probably just fail again.”
If you trust God together with your unbelief, He gives you hope and clarity as He fulfills His promise in His perfect timing, just as He did for Sarah.
The LORD questioned Sarah’s disbelief, asking Abraham, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:13-14 NIV) Despite her doubt, “the LORD…did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, on the very time God had promised him” (Genesis 21:1-2 NIV).
Sarah experienced laughter again. This time, it was not unsure but for the enjoyment of the birth of her son (Genesis 21:6). This marked the start of the achievement of God’s promise about her future that she could be blessed to grow to be the mother of many countries (Genesis 17:16 NIV).
God’s Response: Trust My Promises
Trusting God’s guarantees allows us to switch doubts about our future with faith and clarity in His plan. Just like Sarah, after we don’t trust God’s guarantees, we doubt what He says is feasible. God’s achievement of His promise to Sarah reminds us that a transparent understanding of our future comes from God’s vision, not our human perspectives or circumstances.
“By faith, even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered Him faithful who had made the promise” (Hebrews 11:11 NIV). We can trust that God will probably be faithful to do what He says.
Trusting God’s guarantees means believing that He will keep His word. We can trust the reality of what God says is feasible inside us and our lives, including fulfilling our calling in midlife and beyond.
The Transformative Power of Trusting God
We create a caricature framed in self-doubt after we shape our self-image and future vision based on our human understanding. Trusting God invites His transformative power to reframe our perspective to reflect His truth and plan.
By strengthening their trust in God, Gideon, Jeremiah, and Sarah overcame doubts and obstacles to satisfy their destiny. Being intentional about knowing God more deeply and recognizing His voice more clearly empowers us to pursue our calling whilst we navigate the changes of midlife. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) reminds us,
“Trust within the LORD with all of your heart and lean not on your personal understanding; in all of your ways undergo him, and he’ll make your paths straight.”
We can overcome self-doubt by trusting God’s design, trusting God’s power, and trusting God’s guarantees.Trusting God empowers you to grow confidence in your identity, courage in your ability, and clarity of your future.
Arris Charles is a Life Purpose Coach, author, and speaker captivated with helping Christian women in midlife gain clarity of their true identity and God-given purpose in order that they can live with more passion, confidence, and impact. Her blog and resources mix Biblical insights with practical actions to support women to grow to be and fulfill all God purposed for them.
