Desire, Dream, Do: Strategy for Overcoming Low Self-Esteem

We are all born with a dream and a desire. As children, we explore with our senses and imagination. We learn to clamor after the wonders in our worlds with curiosity and intention. Sometimes, it is nurtured and in other cases, it is extinguished. Depending on the environment that we grow in and those who raise us, we are trained to either soar or suppress our unique abilities and aspirations.

God has outfitted every human with limitless possibilities. As those who are made in His Image, He envisioned a world of worshippers who would, much like the first humans, commune with Him. Sin interrupted that. As a result, disobedience drove a wedge between the Father and His family. However, at the right time, the opportunity for redemption intersected with the world’s restlessness. Jesus came into that space as the Way, offering God His Life to remedy and reconcile the breach.

The Role of Early Experiences and Environments

We may not even realize it, but our early experiences and environments affect the way that we see our dreams and desires. Encouragement and praise affirm, prompting us to embrace our traits and talents. On the other hand, disparagement diminishes our God-given gifts and annihilates our aspirations.

Sometimes, our relatives have had poor influences themselves and don’t know how to champion us. Other times, their good intentions work subversively when they discourage us from dreaming with statements such as “get real” or “get your head out of the clouds.”

The voices we listen to play significant roles in shaping our self-concept and building our self-esteem. In what we would imagine to be a safe environment, we crave celebration, even as we are corrected. However, home is not safe for everyone or their dreams. Sometimes, it can be destructive and tear down in all the ways that it would ideally build us up for God’s plans and purposes. In this, the enemy works through our fallen humanity and imperfect families to sabotage God’s intentions.

He knows that God created family as the unique space where we would learn and grow. Our family of origin and other early influences provide the encouragement and training to aim children and youth in the direction of God’s dream.

When the Word urges parents to train their children in the way they should go, there is an inference to seek the God who created the child. This verse encourages parents to receive knowledge and wisdom to cultivate what the Father has planted in each child. God is the One who formed us as His masterpieces, with intention and attention to the details and dreams that make each human a unique expression of the Father’s creativity.

Dream-Possible

In the Bible, we get a chance to read about family sagas of dreamers and doers. Like any good story, there are plot twists that engage and surprise. God doesn’t disappoint when He presents Gideon’s story either. Like many of us who have had a challenging family experience, the Lord chose the young man for what seemed to be an impossible mission.

As we take a few moments to draw spiritual truth from his situation, let’s also visit a few practical strategies that address our self-esteem while creating space to dream with God.

While we cannot necessarily rewind our own stories, we can abide in the present with God. Honest prayer and a supportive counselor can help us to redress some of the issues that have impacted our self-esteem. Finding a fit among friends and community can introduce a sense of belonging essential to emotional and mental wellness. As we commit to heal, grow, and change, we do so deliberately, with God. He works within to help us mine the desire to dream and do what would otherwise be impossible. 

Desire Transformation

Gideon was regarded as the lowest in his family, which was found among the least among Israel’s tribes. His community was burdened with fear of their nearby foe, the Midianites. To preserve their wheat crops from Midianite destruction, Gideon hid in a winepress to thresh or separate the wheat that sustained his people.

Fearful, this became his routine to avoid another merciless attack. Gideon loathed the situation and wanted a change, but he didn’t see how God was making him a solution to Israel’s suffering. Gideon was still experiencing fear, isolation, and a lack of confidence; but God didn’t wait until Gideon felt brave to call him to defeat neighboring Midian.

Likewise, God encounters us in our hiding places. Speaking in stillness, He transforms the ordinary into sacred, making holy ground out of our wine presses and threshing rooms, altars out of kitchen tables and bathroom floors. We may have stowed our dreams in the monotony of routine and stuffed desires into predictable familiarity. There, He reshapes our desire, causing us to want to be the bold warrior that God says we are.

Instead of hiding, we can bring our greatest fears and challenges to the Lord. He isn’t intimidated by tough questions (Judges 6:13,15). He welcomes us to unburden our hearts. Honest prayer conversations allow us to share while preparing our hearts to hear what He longs to speak. Here, we can exchange the perceptions of our identity that lower our self-esteem and embrace the grace to do what is possible with Him alone.

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” – Judges 6:12, NIV 

Dream with God

Gideon’s world was marked with contradiction.

• He had a God desire to see victory over the relentless assault on his people’s crops, but he also held a disparaging view of himself.
• He was counted among God’s chosen, yet regularly plundered by enemies.
• He was plagued with fear and low self-esteem, but the Lord affirmed him as a “mighty man of valor.” (Judges 6:12, ESV)

It isn’t difficult to understand his bewilderment when God called and chose him to lead in the war against their close enemy.

For Gideon and company to conquer an army that outnumbered them, he had to exchange his view for God’s vision to see himself through God’s eyes. Only then could he properly perceive his situation as victorious.

God was calling Gideon out and up into what He had predestined for the man while he was still hiding. The Lord made a divine introduction, presenting Gideon with a bolder, more confident version of himself that he had never encountered. 

Do Build a Support Circle

The Lord worked through adverse circumstances and diminishing support to advance an uncommon triumph. Parts of Gideon’s army fell away in alarming proportions, causing him to be vastly outnumbered by his enemy.

We tend to believe that we need certain people or resources to manifest God’s dream for our lives. However, beginning with yes is our first step to experiencing the miracle found in the majority of One. In addition, we need to see and steward the relationships with those God has given to remain in the fight against the enemies of destinies and dreams.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? – Romans 8:31, NIV

When people or landscapes shift, we may feel distressed by upheaval. We can take comfort in the Lord’s goodness and abiding presence. God never left Gideon. He remained the unseen advantage, the majority that tipped the battle in favor of His people. Though He is with us, the Holy Spirit wisely intersects our paths with others who will stand and fight, aiding us in fulfilling our destiny and bringing God’s dream to fruition. 

Next Steps

Your journey is sourced and shepherded by the God who oversees impossible dreams into eternal reality. However challenging your circumstance, God knows the “you” that you haven’t met yet. He sees you from the perspective of a Loving Father who created you as His masterpiece and a mighty warrior.

Search the resources on this site to connect with a counselor. Invest the time to build your self-esteem and capacity to desire, dream, and do, with God.