One of my mentors in preaching used to tell the story of George Gobel on the old game show called Hollywood Squares. The host asked George how he was doing, and George gave this classic response, “Have you ever felt like the world was a black tuxedo, and you were a brown pair of shoes?”

Sometimes you feel like you don’t fit in with everyone else. The world is black, and I am brown.

As a Christian, an introvert, and a unique personality, I have often felt the weight of this struggle. There have been seasons where I tried to be fake and act like someone else to connect more with people. Honestly, there have been times I have compromised my faith in an effort to feel like I fit in with others. If I could rub some black shoe polish over myself, then I will match the outfit others are wearing.

It didn’t work. I felt more alone and ashamed than I felt loved.

Then one day, I made a discovery that changed my perspective. I realized that most of the time, God wants me to stand out and not fit in with everyone else.

God made me unique. He did not make a mistake with my unique characteristics. Those parts of me still needed to be molded and shaped by his will, but my essential personality didn’t change. God not only made me as a one of a kind, but he is also remaking me in Jesus to be his special new creation. He is using my personality, my past, my experiences, and mixing in his Spirit to serve him as only I am able. As a believer, my mindset is different than those around me. Not only that, but my actions are molded by God’s will. I am not called to go with the flow but rather to find live for God in my own way.

Nowadays, I feel less alone. I am embracing my identity in God. I may be different, but I am different by design. And here is the amazing part, you are too.