From the DAWGHouse…
You Can’t Hide from You
We often blame life for our struggles…
The job isn’t right.
The circumstances are unfair.
People don’t understand.
But what if life isn’t the problem? What if we are the problem?
As I recently shared with a brother at Forge, you can change careers, move cities, even reinvent yourself outwardly, but you cannot escape you. The way you feel about yourself, what you believe deep down about who you are, those things follow you wherever you go. They determine how you respond to life’s challenges, how you treat others, and how you navigate the ups and downs.
Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” That’s a sobering truth.
The way you see yourself shapes your reality…
If you believe you are worthless, you will act accordingly.
If you think you are unlovable, you will push people away or settle for less than God’s best.
If you see yourself as a failure, you will sabotage opportunities before they even begin.
This is why self-improvement tactics, motivational speeches, or new goals never satisfy. They might change behavior temporarily, but they don’t address the deeper issue: Who do you believe you are?
The only way to truly know yourself is to know the One who made you.
The world tells us to “find ourselves” by looking inward, but that’s like searching for a light in a dark room without turning on the switch. True identity doesn’t come from self-discovery—it comes from God-discovery.
Jesus paid for you with His life.
He didn’t do that for someone worthless. He didn’t do it for someone hopeless. He did it because you were created for more than just existing—you were made to be His. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” That means your value isn’t based on your past, your failures, or even your successes. It is found in Christ alone.
So, if you’re tired of running, if you’re exhausted from trying to outrun your own thoughts, if you are tired of following your own path, STOP!
Stop striving to redefine yourself on your own terms. Stop measuring your worth by worldly standards. Instead, surrender to the One who already knows who you are. Because when you let God define you, the striving ends. The weight lifts. And you finally see the truth:
You were never meant to hide. You were meant to be found.
To the King and Freedom.
Joe Bouch
