What Are You Really Made Of? Rediscovering Your Substance Beyond Stress and Status
What Are You Really Made Of? Rediscovering Your Substance Beyond Stress and Status
Ever felt like you're just trying to hold everything together? Between jobs, bills, relationships, and the news cycle, it's easy to start believing that life is just an endless juggling act—one dropped ball away from collapse.
We often hear that we need to "get it together," but rarely does anyone ask: what exactly are we trying to get together? A messy personality? A broken budget? A fragile body? In a world where material success and physical well-being seem like the ultimate goals, it’s no wonder many of us feel like we're not enough.
But what if there's another way to define ourselves? A deeper source of worth, stability, and peace?
The Common Myth: You Are What You Have (or Don’t Have)
Culture tells us we are our jobs, our achievements, or even our struggles. We're subtly taught to think our substance is measured by:
How productive we are
How many people like us
Whether our bodies look or feel a certain way
The number in our bank accounts
No wonder we’re constantly trying to prove our worth.
A Radical Reframe: You Are Not Material
Here’s a spiritual (but deeply practical) idea from this week’s Bible Lesson:
“Substance is that which is eternal and incapable of discord and decay.” — Science and Health, p. 468
What if your real substance isn’t made up of biology, resume points, or social reputation—but of qualities like love, purpose, and joy?
In Hebrews, faith is called “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” That means what’s truly foundational isn’t visible—but it's real. In fact, it's more real than what comes and goes.
This idea doesn’t ask you to ignore problems. It invites you to see yourself—and your challenges—through a spiritual lens that reveals solutions, not just stress.
Skeptical? Understandable.
If you’ve ever felt burned out by religion or been told to “just have faith,” this idea might sound like magical thinking. But it's actually a different kind of logic:
Not about blind belief, but spiritual clarity.
Not about escaping reality, but redefining it.
Not about fixing yourself, but discovering you’re not broken to begin with.
This isn’t about becoming something you're not. It’s about realizing who you already are.
Love Is the Core of Substance
The Responsive Reading this week (1 Corinthians 13) reminds us that without love, even the flashiest gifts are meaningless. The clanging cymbals of ego and fear don’t define your essence. Love does.
And not just sentimental love—but the unshakable, divine kind of love that is patient, generous, fearless, and enduring. That’s the love you were made of—and made to reflect.
What Does This Look Like Practically?
Here’s the shift:
Instead of: “I don’t have enough time/money/energy.”
Try seeing: “What I am made of—peace, supply, balance—is already here.”Instead of: “I’m not good enough.”
Try seeing: “I am the outcome of divine Love. I can’t be separated from that.”Instead of: “I’m overwhelmed.”
Try seeing: “My real substance is Spirit, not stress. I live from that calm.”
These aren’t affirmations—they’re shifts in perception. They’re ways to reorient your inner GPS from matter-based panic to Spirit-based peace.
The Parable of the Talents: Your Gifts Are Enough
In Matthew 25, a master entrusts his servants with “talents”—not pressure or punishment, but opportunity. The point isn’t how much they got, but how they used it. Even the one who received the least had everything they needed to succeed.
This is not about spiritual hustle. It’s about trusting the substance you’ve already been given.
How to Explore This in Daily Life
You don’t need to go on a retreat or join a religion to explore this. Just start noticing:
What are you identifying as your substance today?
Are you treating stress as more “real” than peace?
Can you pause and let spiritual qualities speak louder than fear?
Start small. The light always dawns gradually.
One Last Thought
Maybe you’ve been defining yourself by what’s on the outside—body, income, background. That’s normal. But it’s also optional. You’re more than the sum of your circumstances. You are spiritual substance, loved and sustained, with or without proof in the mirror or calendar.
So, what are you really made of?
