How to Find Yourself In God

Have you ever thought to yourself that “I just want to find myself”? Well, you probably have. This concept is very popular in our time. We see this journey time and time again from books, to films, to even music. 

We see this message everywhere we look so it’s no wonder that young adults especially have this romantic view of “finding yourself”. It’s a wonderful concept, but sometimes it’s just not how it looks in the movies, like most things in life, it’s a lot messier. Each of us want that though, I know I did. 

Yes, there’s the image of going off to college or perhaps on some great travel experience after high school, where you learn about different cultures, meet different people than your home towns, and ultimately learn so much about yourself that you feel like a different person. Is that really what happens though? Nope. At least not outside the movies, and that’s okay. 

So Why Not? 

I’ve spent some time thinking about this lately and I think the simple reason that it doesn’t happen like this is because of age. Yes, sometimes being so young you just aren’t going to get there. I don’t say this to sound cryptic of the youth (I’m only 27), but more along the lines of how can you find yourself when you’re still a kid? 

College students are just kids. Looking back I felt like an adult, I thought I was an adult, but in reality I was still just a kid. I say that because college puts you in the bubble, and while it can be challenging it can ultimately be the same. Yes, there’s more risk than say high school, but you’re still in a relatively protected bubble. Now this isn’t to discount anyone's experience, because I know that we all have different stories and experiences and challenges that we faced. But in general, it was a bubble. 

And because usually college is a very selfish time in our lives. We generally think more about ourselves than others and not too much past our immediate friends and family. With those restrictions we absolutely can’t truly “find ourselves”. 

The big one though, because of that bubble and some selfishness, we often find ourselves away from God. 

Now I didn’t even start going to Church until I was in college, but I can assure you that my faith was small, ego big, and definitely a little selfish (even though I would’ve never admitted it at the time). 

The Truth 

Truth time. The more I’ve grown in my faith the more I’ve come to realize that I can’t really know who I am if I don’t know who created me. When trying to find yourself it’s important to always look back at your roots because that can mold you in so many different ways. What if we have to go further back then just our roots? To the very beginning. 

Because I’m becoming more and more a believer in knowing who we are, we must know God. 

And we accomplish that through growing in our faith and genuinely pursuing a relationship with God. 

The Process

How we are able to do this stems from that nobody knows us better than God. God is the one that made us, God knows everything in our hearts and soul. When we are able to connect and believe in God we are able to find this inner peace that we can’t find anywhere else. 

With that peace it becomes easier to listen to yourself. I’ve noticed that the closer I become to God, the easier it is to listen to my heart and I know more of what is important to me and what is right. Also, what makes me, me. That’s a beautiful thing. 

So search for God and you will not only feel at peace and more loved than ever, but also you will find yourself. We live in a world where there’s so much surrounding us and so much noise that it can honestly be difficult to know yourself and find yourself. 

We live in a world that is constantly telling us what to be. That you have to have some grand adventure far away from home to truly find yourself. While that would be amazing, it’s not in the cards for everyone and honestly you only need your heart and God. 

Things Change

Another huge thing I’ve realized about finding yourself is that it’s always an ongoing journey because things change. Change isn’t always a bad thing either. Honestly. 

God will change you and if you are growing closer and closer to God then you SHOULD be changed. We should grow into kinder, more thoughtful, peaceful, loving, steady people. I know that’s been the case for me. I’m a completely different person since I started seeking out God and really letting God into my heart. 

You know when you read the bible and a passage really speaks to you and then you read that passage again a few years later and it still speaks to you, but in a totally different way than before? Finding yourself is kinda like that, we grow and we change as we learn and as we have experiences. That’s a good thing. 

So even when you do find yourself, you may come to find in five years a lot has changed. 

Be Proud

However, it’s important to be proud of that. Growth is a beautiful thing and we don’t get anywhere overnight. Things take time and we all have to start from somewhere. So take the time to really let yourself grow and know that as you grow closer to God, you will find yourself more than you could’ve thought possible. 

One day we all look back and think about how far we’ve come and it’s a great feeling.