In September of 2020, Nathan Apodaca’s truck broke down on his way to work. He grabbed his long board and a bottle of Ocean Spray cran-raspberry juice and kept going. He decided to video himself riding and drinking for his TikTok account. He added “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac and became a viral sensation with 35 million views. Then 134,000 other people copied it within a month trying to go viral too. If you watch Tik Tok or Reels from Facebook or Instagram, as soon as someone does a video that catches people’s attention, a lot of others do their own version trying to get views. The trend seems to be pressuring people to be copies rather than originals.
Psalm 139:13-14 says, “You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord!” (TPT) In Jeremiah 1:5 God said, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations” (NLT). Then in Ephesians 2:10 it says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” All of these verses tell me that God created you as a unique individual with a unique plan for your life. Don’t spend your life copying someone else’s life.
In Galatians 6:4 we’re told, “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.” God created you with a specific purpose and job to do. It’s when we get caught up in the comparison game that we start trying to copy what others are doing. Don’t fall for that lie that tries to distract you from your purpose. My friend’s dad used to say, “You were born unique. You need to die unique.” Embrace your uniqueness. Embrace your strengths and weaknesses and run the race God called you to run. Just like a real race, you must stay out of the other runner’s lanes. God gave you your own lane to run in so you would complete the work that’s as unique as you are. It’s time we all embraced our uniqueness.
Photo by Rupert Britton on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 