I heard or probably read in passing someone stating that imposter syndrome wasn’t real, or some variation of those words. Maybe I cannot recall whose words or the overall context of the statement because I immediately dismissed it saying that he or she must not know what they are speaking about because I have experienced it many times.
'Imposter Syndrome' as the experts define it if the Oxford dictionary can be so categorised, means “the persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills.” It can happen to the best of us and I believe it does happen to the best of us, particularly those who desire to do well at whatever they set out to do.
Therefore, as I sat reflecting on a scripture in the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit showed me why believers should live courageously despite the gnawing of doubt and anxiety that try to germinate from thoughts of inadequacy or inability. In Acts Chapter 3, Peter and John healed a man who was lame from birth. While the lame man stretched out his hand for charity, Peter powerfully pronounced one of the most famous verses of scripture, saying, “silver and gold, I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (Verse 6).
There isn’t a single time that I read this scripture and not feel a stirring of gusto and courage, mainly because Peter and John were mere men, just as we are. Yet, the power of their words and the power of the Name of Jesus healed that man and continues to ricochet and permeate lives to this day.
It’s that Name on which I fix my focus. Later in Acts 4 when the Scribes and Pharisees realised the magnitude of the miracle, in their ubiquitous and played-out tactic they arrested Peter and John (Acts 4:3). I place this in a modern-day setting and can only imagine the ‘scene’ and raucous this would have caused. The Pharisees and Scribes not wanting to be undermined asked Peter and John, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” (Acts 4:7).
Peter filled with the boldness and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, declared, and I paraphrase, “You ask me by what power or means, but let me tell you this, it is not a method or means, it is a NAME…the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” (Verse 9&10).
It was, is, and will always be the name of Jesus by which we are saved, delivered, restored, healed, set free, and empowered.
Peter and John were perceived as “uneducated” and “untrained” by the Scribes and Pharisees but do you think Peter and John didn’t know that they were uneducated and untrained? Don’t you think they too had all the feelings and thoughts that are now coined “imposter syndrome"? I am sure they did! Nonetheless, the Scribes and Pharisees, perceived one truth that made all the difference… “they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
The boldness and wisdom Peter and John possessed were not their own, and they knew it.
You may try various means to attain your desires. It is okay to try meditation when you feel anxious, it is great to start a course when you lack knowledge on a topic, and it is okay to seek out professionals to help you work through trauma. However, the real power, the real difference-maker, the real change-agent is not the method, it is the power of the Name of Jesus.
What I found silly about the Scribes and Pharisees question, was that in healing the lame man Peter clearly said, “In the Name of Jesus…” and again when he was addressing the crowd. I believe that the arrest and the additional interrogation were only a means to reiterate for a third time (not coincidental) a truth that still reverberates through centuries: that the power (and by extension, all power) is in the Name of Jesus and His name only.
Whatever you are trying to achieve or receive today, I am reminding you that the name of Jesus continues to be filled with unimaginable, inextinguishable power, beyond this realm, to satisfy whatever is your longing.
Don’t say His Name absentmindedly or unbelieving, but with courage by the Holy Spirit, declare, “In the Name of Jesus, I [am], it [shall be], I [have] whatever I need from Him.
The answer still does not lie in silver and gold no matter how much the world tries to convince you otherwise. The answer will always be in and through the name of Jesus Christ!
And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. (Acts 3:16)
Love Ya!
Krystal Baynes-Hoseinee
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