RIRL - Ep 28 - Being Discovered

The host, Beth Medley, shares a personal story about wanting to be discovered as a child and feeling unseen. She realizes that God has already discovered her and wants to elevate her in a safe and positive way. Beth discusses the importance of being brave and putting ourselves out there, even in the face of insecurities. She introduces a practical tool to help combat feelings of being unseen and invites listeners to imagine Jesus in the room, offering him their feelings of being unseen. The exercise aims to rewire the brain and help individuals truly believe that Jesus is with them. Beth encourages listeners to share their experiences with her and asks them what they will radiate in their lives, leadership, and pursuit of Jesus. Welcome to Radiant in Real Life. I'm your host, Beth Medley, and we are a community of women focused on becoming radiant in life, leadership, and the pursuit of Jesus. I'm so excited you're here. Welcome back to Radiant in Real Life. I am going to take you back a little bit to little Beth, and we're going to visit my childhood for a second. So when I was a kid, I really dreamed about being discovered. Like, I would walk around the mall or wherever I was, like, praying that someone would, like, notice me. I'm like, notice how pretty I am. Maybe I could be a model, or notice me singing, and maybe I could, you know, I'll be discovered. Like, you know, I just really wanted, I felt so unseen, and I wanted to be discovered. And it was so funny because I was driving in the car the other day, and I felt like the Lord was reminding me about that. Like, Beth, do you remember when you really wanted to be discovered? And I mean, it's kind of like an embarrassing thing to talk about, even right now, because I'm like, that's ridiculous. But I just really felt like I was something special, and I wanted somebody to know, to notice, and nobody noticed. And the Lord was like, Beth, I already discovered you. You've already been discovered. And I want to tell you, friend, you've already been discovered. The Lord already discovered you. He found you, He made you, and He knows exactly what's special about you. And He is actually the one that can elevate you. And not only can He elevate you, but He can do it in a way that is so safe and so positive for you. I think about these child stars, because of course, my kids, they're like, oh, we want to be YouTube stars, and they want to be discovered. And it's so fun because I watch them, and we've talked about, yes, if the Lord would open doors for you to be on TV shows, or if you want to act, we'll pursue it. But I want you to know why so many people, or actually, my mom didn't let me do things out of fear. I actually was recruited to be in the Houston Ballet when I was a little girl, and she said no. And it crushed my dreams. It crushed my dreams, because I was like, I wanted to be a ballerina. And she was afraid that it was going to turn into something that was negative for me. And so she said no. And so we talked to our kids, though, about a lot of these child stars, and all of the insanity that they're exposed to, and their parents that want to take advantage of them. And they're like, but mom, you would make sure that we were safe. You would say no if something wasn't okay. And the truth is, I would. But I also am not afraid of them blowing up if that's what God's plan is for them, right? And so I want you to know, when you think about, God, does anybody even see me? The Lord absolutely sees you, and he's going to elevate you in a way, in a time that is right and is safe for you emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, physically, right? He's going to take you into the place with him, into the secret places with him. So when I think about being seen, obviously, I think about the name of God that is El Roy. And it means the God who sees me. And we see this in the Bible, and it comes from Hagar. So if you don't know the story about Hagar, it's in Genesis 16, and it's kind of messed up. It's actually quite messed up, which we see often in the Bible, because there's people in there. And Hagar is actually running away from her abusive mistress who's taken advantage of her. She's pregnant by her owner's husband, and this is all Sarai's fault, okay? All of this was of her making. Hagar had nothing to do with it, and she's run away, and she's in the desert. I imagine her in the desert. I'm not sure. I don't have my Bible in front of me. I think she's by a spring, and an angel shows up, and talks to her, and blesses her, and tells her that her son is going to be the mother of many. There's going to be a line from him, and she is blessed. The Lord sees her and takes compassion on her. And I want you to know that wherever you're feeling unseen in your life, wherever that place is, if it's at home, if it's at work, if it's at church, if it's maybe everywhere, the Lord does see you, and he will elevate you in time. As you draw near to him, he promises he will draw near to you, and he has a plan for your life. So you don't need to worry about when is this going to happen, or how is this going to happen, but you do need to be brave. You do need to be brave, because it's really scary to put yourself out there, and to do new things, and to be made fun of, especially if we're walking in insecurity, which let's be honest, most of us are. Most of us have insecurities, and it's not like people can say anything to me, and my feelings aren't hurt, or I don't carry that around with me. But when God's truth is higher than everybody else's truth for us, that's when we learn, and are able to step out, and be bold, and do these things that we would never have done in a million years. So all that being said, I have a little tool for you as we're moving into this, because it's all well and good to be like, oh, Jesus is with you, but if you don't feel it, how are you going to move into the space where you believe it? And that's really the goal of coaching, as I sit in a room with the women that I work with. It's so interesting, even just yesterday, I had a client that said that she wasn't sure that she had even made any progress. She was sitting there, we've worked together for a few months, and she was like, look at me, I'm in the exact same place. And I'm like, girl, are you crazy? No, you're not. Look at all of the things. Look at all of the things that you have done. Is this piece still a struggle? Yes, but the more that we believe truth, the more that we know truth, the freer we become. Jesus said that the truth will set you free. The reality of knowing the reality of your situation, that's going to set you free. So the more you see truth, the more that you know truth, the more that you have built neural pathways to believe the truths of God, and less towards believing the lies of the enemy, then you're going to be able to walk in freedom. So just a practical tool for us. When you start having that feeling of nobody sees me, nobody appreciates me, nobody knows me, when am I going to be found? Maybe you are working to be on social media and grow your following because of a really good thing that the Lord has given you, but you're like, man, this is just not working. Whatever it might be. I want you to close your eyes and take a minute to center yourself. Just invite the Holy Spirit to come. Invite the Holy Spirit to come. Take a deep breath. Breathe in the Holy Spirit, and breathe out any lies that you might be believing. So you're going to give God room to work. And we know that Jesus, before he ascended, after he rose, he promised that he would always be with us. And that it was even, he said it was even better that he left, because sometimes it sure feels like, well, Jesus, maybe you could just be here. But there was only one bodily Jesus, right? Like he could only be, you know, with so many people at one time. And he said it was better that he left so that he could send the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit isn't in a body. And it could be with everybody at all times. So the Holy Spirit is always with you. Jesus is always with you through his Holy Spirit. And so I want you to close your eyes and ask Jesus where he is in the room. And I only know one person that actually doesn't see pictures in her mind. But most of us see pictures in our mind. So I want you to ask the Lord for a picture of Jesus in the room. Where is he? Is he sitting next to you? Is he by the door? Is he far away in a corner? Is he on the other side of the couch, but you feel like there's distance? Where is he? Where is he? Where is he? Because he's somewhere. So you found him. And as you look into his eyes, I want you to offer him the feeling of being unseen, because he's looking at you right now. His eyes are upon you. So I want you to even, maybe even imagine pulling that feeling out of your body and collecting it into a ball. And anything that you're feeling that's not from God, whether it be stress or condemnation, shame, I want you to pull it out. Imagine, imagine pulling it out of your body, putting it into a ball and giving it to Jesus. And I want you to watch and notice what he does with it. What does he do with it? Where does it go? Because the truth is he doesn't want you to have it. He like became flesh and died so that he could take it from you. He doesn't want you to hold on to it anymore. So as you practice this practice, as you go through this practice of taking these things out, giving it to Jesus, seeing in your mind's eye, seeing him watching you because he is watching you. He sees you. He sees all the hurt. He sees all the pain. He sees all the joy. He sees all the wins and he celebrates all of them with you. So I want you to remember that he's there and do this exercise as you are in those dark places, because it's going to start rewiring your brain to really and truly believe and function like he's with you. So all that being said, I really want you to be able to tell me what this exercise was like for you. So hop in my DMs, Instagram, Facebook, they're really the best way to make sure you get a hold of me. I might not get back to you right away. I'm a little slow because I have six children, but I will get back to you and I will pray with you because I love to hear testimonies of what the Lord is doing in your life. Thank you for listening to our episode today. Hit that subscribe button and leave us a review. So I have one last question before you go. What are you going to radiate this week in your life, leadership, and your pursuit of Jesus?