God Used Former Miss Universe’s ‘Wasted’ Season to Restore Her Confidence in Him
By Movieguide® Contributor
Demi-Leigh Tebow had an identity crisis when her year of being Miss Universe was up, but God used that time to help her find confidence in Him rather than herself.
“When that Miss Universe season of [my life] came to an end, it sent me spiraling into something that was not fun,” Tebow said while speaking at a Liberty University convocation. “It sent me spiraling into a season that I call my waiting season. But really, it just felt like a total wasted season. Nothing good was happening, it was a dark time, it was a messy season. It was such a dark, messy season I was so insecure, so unsure of myself, I had so many questions.”
“It’s hard to work through a season like that. I viewed that waiting season as a wasted season, but in reality, that waiting, wasted season was really a period of preparation,” Tebow continued. “You see, during that period of preparation, even though I couldn’t see it, even though I couldn’t tell in the moment, I was being pruned by all the difficult career roadblocks, all the nos that I was getting, to discover my life’s true calling. I ended up moving continents — I felt alone — but in reality, I was getting set up to have new, deep-seated friendships and relationships. In that waiting season, even though I couldn’t see it, those weeds of false promises that were not rooted in God’s promises in my life were uprooted.”
READ MORE: WHERE THIS FORMER MISS UNIVERSE FINDS HER IDENTITY
This season of pain and frustration ended up shifting Tebow’s view of herself. For so long, she had relied on finding her self-worth through success. Instead, she began to turn towards God and find purpose in Him, regardless of her life’s circumstances.
“My Miss Universe season ended up becoming my worth. That meant that I relied so much on my own capabilities, on my life’s circumstances to show me, to give me my worth and my value,” she explained. “You see, my worth and my value was directly related to the amount of self-confidence that I had. And, when you break down the word confidence, what it really just means is to have full trust. So, essentially what I was saying was, ‘Hey, when I have self confidence, I have full trust in my own capabilities, my own abilities, my own achievements.’ And man, I don’t know about you guys, but the times in my life when I have put my worth and my values in my self-confidence, it usually has put me on a rollercoaster of not so great emotions.”
When she began to turn towards to Lord for stability, Tebow found that He was, and is, secure and He is able to provide a foundation like nothing else.
“I didn’t need self-confidence to start off with. Because as a believer of Jesus Christ, as a Christian, I get to have something so much more powerful. I get to have, not self-confidence, I get to have God-confidence,” Tebow said. “You see, what that means is that I get to have full trust in who God is and in who He says I am. And you know who He is? He is someone who is so, so much bigger than my life’s circumstances. He is someone that is always, always trustworthy that is always fixed and that is never, ever changing.
That shift in foundation has made all the difference in Tebow life as she has partnered with her husband Tim Tebow to live a life of ministry and work to care for the most vulnerable people on this earth.
READ MORE: DEMI TEBOW LOST A CROWN AND FOUND HER IDENTITY IN CHRIST
She explores identity more in her recent book A Crown That Lasts.
“My prayer is that God uses my experiences, stories and lessons – including the ones I’ve learned the hard way – to help you claim your true identity, become more confident in God and live out your unique purpose too!” Tebow said of her book on Instagram.
Along with her titles of Miss Universe and advocate, she’s getting ready to take on a new role — mom.
“We are just so excited and so over the moon to be having a baby together,” she told PEOPLE earlier this year. Tim added he’s “honored for the privilege of getting the responsibility and the joy of being mom and dad.”
READ MORE: TIM AND DEMI-LEIGH TEBOW EXPECTING FIRST CHILD: ‘SO GRATEFUL’
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