Actor Mike Myers has been quoted as saying, “At any time I still expect that the no-talent police will come and arrest me.”

Insightful writer Maya Angelou once said, “I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh-oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out’.”

Actress Kate Winslet said, “I would wake up in the morning before going off to a shoot, and think, I can’t do this; I’m a fraud.”

It is a very common feeling – for one’s confidence to be completely shaken with thoughts such as:

You skated through, again.  They are going to realize that you are not so smart.  You don’t belong here.  You’re not good enough.  You got lucky.  You secretly fooled them, again. 

It is a common theme. Why do so many clearly successful people feel like a fraud?  Have you ever heard this voice in your own head?  What we are talking about is called “impostor syndrome.”  Yes, it really is!

And, it is a lie from the enemy.  I am going to describe a little more about this soul-sucking malady, and give you some great information to help you battle it.  If this is you, please read to the end.  If you know someone who might be encouraged by this, please share!

If you haven’t heard this voice in your head, two things.  I AM HAPPY FOR YOU!  And, many people in your life probably have.

People with impostor syndrome live with the constant conflict that their resume and the story they tell themselves doesn’t line up.  They constantly feel as if they are “posing”, and will soon be discovered for the faker that they are – DESPITE THEIR VERY REAL TALENT!

I understand this all too well.  I have trouble internalizing competency.  I am writing this article to connect with others who struggle, and offer a healthier mindset.

We see a lot of memes going around the internet (some are hilarious, by the way) about “adulting”.  I find myself laughing at these, and strangely relating.  After all, at my age I should not still be proud of myself for accomplishing tasks that are expected from adults.  Nor should I be impressed when others see me as a competent adult (whew!  I am still adulting ok).  I am WAAAAAY past that age.

Then, there is the opposite of the Impostor Syndrome.  I had to do a little research to even learn that there was a term for this, and it is actually quite funny.  It is called the Dunning-Kruger effect.  You can do your own research to find out more about it, if you want.  But, the long and the short of it is that inept people don’t have enough experience to properly evaluate how little experience they have, so they think they are brilliant when they are not.  Think people at the beginning of American Idol, or overconfident teenagers…

I bring up the Dunning-Kruger effect because I, like many, started out that way.  I thought that I had the world by the tail, had it all figured out, and was foolishly certain of myself, even though I had NOTHING figured out.  Not my faith, not my future… nothing.  I was literally winging life.

And, then BAM!   The rude awakening of life hit me.  I realized that I WASN’T superior in every way, as my young and immature self thought.  I discovered my inadequacies.  But as I grew and matured in life, and as I accomplished things, I believed that I was an impostor. I felt that I was faking my way through adulthood.

It turns out that it can be related to anxiety and an intense fear of failure.  It can also be related to spiritual immaturity.

Now, I am going to stop for a minute here, to clarify that I am in no way a professional. I cannot diagnose myself or anyone else.  I cannot prescribe anything for this, but can offer words of hope – this is my real intent.

I learned that this Impostor Syndrome is a complete lie from the pit of hell.  It is a distraction that can keep us from living our lives in a way that glorifies God.  It can even take our eyes off of God completely.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, I can trust in Him who made me and died to save me (and you) to show me the truth about who I am.  I am a SINNER SAVED BY GRACE.  I am perfectly imperfect, and will never be able to live up to the standards that I secretly believe the outside world expects from me.  I am redeemed, and covered in mercy.

He who loved me enough to suffer a bloody, agonizing and humiliating death to bear my sins is the one who defines me now.  Whether or not you know the Lord, I want to share with you what HE has to say in His Word.

And, if you don’t know Him, please spend some quiet time getting to know Him.  James 4: 7-8a tells us to “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”  This means that you don’t have to feel like an impostor.  You can resist this lie.  God tells us that if we submit to him, and resist the devil, he will flee from you.  WHAT GREAT NEWS! 

And here is some more great news for you –

Psalm 145:18 – “The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.”

Philippians 1:6 – “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Psalm 139:13-14 – “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

Philippians 4: 4-7 – “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Proverbs 3:26 – “For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.”

2 Peter 1:3 – “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”

I could go on all day, but Romans 8 is really on my mind today.  I am including it in full, here for you, from the easy to read New Living Translation.  Enjoy it!

Please comment!  And if what you have read is meaningful, please like our page and SHARE!

Romans 8 – NLT

Life in the Spirit

1So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2And because you belong to him, the power^a of the life-giving Spirit has freed you^b from the power of sin that leads to death. 3The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.^c So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

5Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life^d because you have been made right with God. 11The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

12Therefore, dear brothers and sisters,^e you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature,^f you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children^g of God.

15So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.^h Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”ⁱ 16For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

The Future Glory

18Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children,^j including the new bodies he has promised us. 24We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope^k for it. 25But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

26And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers^l in harmony with God’s own will. 28And we know that God causes everything to work together^m for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstbornⁿ among many brothers and sisters. 30And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

31What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.34Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

35Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36(As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”^o) 37No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^p neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.