Knowing Yourself - Knowing Your Ignored Parts of Self

As we continue our journey to know ourselves better, we are reminded that no matter what we face in our daily lives, we can draw continually on God’s great love for us. This week, let’s take a minute to explore the unknown, sometimes unwelcomed, and often ignored parts of ourselves. We tend to think of ourselves a single, unified entity but we are actually a “family” of many part selves. We all tend to showcase our good selves – the kind, the loving, the caring, the peaceful – while we strive to ignore or hide our broken selves, deceitful selves, insecure selves, or prideful selves. In doing so, we become vulnerable pretenders, lying to others as well as ourselves.  

The only way to overcome our ignored parts of self is to acknowledge them. If we fail to acknowledge them they become stronger, increasingly influencing who we are. It is the very reason the Apostle Paul warns us in Ephesians 5:11, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”

The good news is when we acknowledge our ignored parts and expose them to God’s love, He can mold us into the new person He is creating us to be as we experience genuine spiritual transformation. With self-acceptance and self-knowledge, we can see and accept ourselves as God does – fully and unconditionally. Acceptance doesn’t mean we are perfect, but it does mean we are no longer blocking God’s transformational work in us. 

Self-refection allows us to see our sin nature for what it is and then we can understand which selves need to be eliminated and which need to be embraced. Matthew 6:6 tells us how, “when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place.” Prayer is meeting God in the secret place and allowing Him to transform us into our best selves. 

This week, let’s pray and give God complete access to the dark parts of our selves which need the most transformation and revel in His great, deep love for us.

If you want to take a deeper dive with us, there’s still time to pick up your copies of A Year to a Better You, the year-long devotional, and the companion S.O.A.P. Journal.