Do You Ever Feel Like an Imposter?
By Lauren Hasson
I was nestled into a petite sofa with two powerhouse women. They had been sharing their testimonies of conquering the world, one bringing healing and justice to those who had been sex trafficked (herself an overcomer in extraordinary measure), the other revamping foster care to over 450 churches in Los Angeles. What couldn’t they do? Marveling at their stories, I knew I was sitting next to modern-day Harriett Tubmans!
I was not prepared for what came next....
“Do you ever feel like an imposter?”, queried Shawn.
“Is this even a question you can ask these two women?” I wondered.
“Absolutely!” Came the reply.
At that moment I really wished it was no longer a panel, and I could take charge of the questioning. This seemed impossible to me. How could it be? These women had more courage than almost anyone I know.
Conspicuously, I didn’t answer the question. Shawn’s eyes met mine, and he prodded.
I knew making up a story wasn’t going to lend itself to my anointing for the remainder of the day, and the answer was now unavoidable.
“Uhhhmmm, no”, came the honest answer a little too quickly, begging an explanation. I could see the challenge this put into the atmosphere. I went on to share the miraculous trajectory of my father’s life, from poverty to becoming an industrialist through an invention the Holy Spirit gave to himbefore he knew the Lord. This showed me that anything was possible within a person’s lifetime. My mother, on the other hand, overcame a horrendous legacy of abuse, becoming the pioneer for emotional health and nurturing in my family line. The fact that these two radical gifts of favor were given to me, brought a reality that the hand of God was giving me a gift, a very rare gift, to believe that God was able to accomplish extraordinary things that only He could do. This was not a gift that could be squandered. Their commitment to become who God created them to be cost them everything.
They had given this freely to me in a way that was surrounded by a depth of love that centered my core beliefs as a child of God.
As I shared this story of recognizing goodness, I was unapologetic in my statement that I never feel like an imposter. I may feel inadequate at times. I may even fail stupendously at something. But when I’m in my lane, walking with Him in an assignment He’s given to me, it’s impossible to feel like an imposter. Sometimes I find myself laughing with Him, “Your Name is the one that’s on the line here!” It is this laughable when you know the only way to get the job done is His complete and ridiculous favor. Favor in people, favor in resources, favor in ingenuity, favor in open doors.
High Beliefs verses Core Beliefs
Hearing Kris Vallotton speak about our belief systems, he went to the heart of feeling like an imposter.
When I have a mental agreement with a revelation, this can be called my high belief.
I believe that God is good.
I believe that He has my children.
I believe that He will provide financially.
I believe that He will forgive me.
I believe that He is trustworthy.
But what about when the trials come to dispel each one of these mental agreements? What about when there are issues you can’t control with your teenagers? What about when you’re not sure how to pay the unexpected medical bill? What about when you’ve done something and you find yourself covered in the feelings of shame, humiliation, and defeat? What about when the very nature of the trial accuses God, saying that He doesn’t care about your intimate needs?
According to Kris, this is when your core beliefs come into play. Shaped by familial beliefs, personal experiences, and previous disappointments, our core beliefs come into play when we are confronted with difficult hardships and trials and we find ourselves believing more in the trial than in the power of the Holy Spirit to transform our situation. Our mental agreement is no match for our core belief that has been substantiated by the negative thinking patterns of our past.
How do we get past this?
Confession, Meditation, Declaration, Prophesy. We must war with every thought that does not align with the love of God for you in each and every situation. In the darkest times, we borrow faith from those around us. We look for anchoring alignments that will hold us through the storm that is not only raging against your present, but whipping up the waves of your past.
He is who He says He is. He will do what He says He will do. I am who He says I am. We war with hope through his word, declaring promises out loud, thanking Him for every step of progress. We call out the major forces of those who believe in us, receiving prophetic words of hope, finding promises in the word that becomes your truth.
When your High Belief and your Core Belief line up, you are walking in radical authority that will transform not only your life, but will shape the world around you.
Soak in Kris Vallotton’s video for more of High Belief vs. Core Belief and the power of Spiritual Intelligence.
Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar
and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart.
Psalm 5:3
8 I will teach you and tell you the way to go and how to get there;
I will give you good counsel, and I will watch over you.
Psalm 32:8
Okay, have I ever felt like an imposter?
Being in a college musical, when I was cast as an actor/dancer/singer and instead of signing, they had me mouth the words!