Imposter Syndrome, the Wilderness, and the Weight of the Kingdom

by Dave Miller

After the last article Imposter Syndrome and the CoVo Calling, an excellent question came from the CoVo Multipliers tribe.

The Question:

Many today are wrestling with how their ordinary roles—family, work, entrepreneurship, or skilled trades—fit into the mission of God. The question arises: How do I, as a husband or wife, as a parent, and as someone with entrepreneurial drive, participate in the Kingdom and the task of making disciples? 

And more importantly: How do we encourage one another to step into this path, to embrace the inevitable “imposter syndrome” not as a disqualification but as a teacher?

Imposter Syndrome as a Signal

Imposter syndrome shows up when we attempt something bigger than ourselves. It’s the feeling that we don’t belong, that others are more qualified, that we are out of our depth. But that very tension signals something important: we are pressing beyond comfort into calling.

The default path in life is always the path of least resistance. Yet we don’t come to know Christ deeply there. Nor do we grow into Kingdom leaders there. Imposter syndrome is the trembling edge of growth—it’s the reminder that we are not enough in ourselves, but we are not meant to be.

The question is not whether we will feel it. We will. The real question is whether we will persevere when the “invoices” of obedience come due. Will we wither like shallow soil, or will we endure as the fourth soil that bears fruit?

The Wilderness as Teacher

Here is where my co-laborer Mark Goering’s words cut to the heart in his chapter Apostolic Function Through Identity and Testing, “Jesus’ wilderness was not a detour. It was the pathway.”

At the Jordan River, He received divine affirmation: “You are my beloved Son.” Immediately afterward, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness. Not to contradict His identity, but to deepen it. Each temptation—the bread, the leap, the shortcut—was an invitation to bypass the hard road. As Mark wrote:

“In the wilderness, Jesus didn’t try to prove His sonship. He lived from it. Each temptation became an opportunity to demonstrate what it means to be truly aligned with the Father.”

Mark wrote clearly, “Apostolic function—true Kingdom mission—is born at the intersection of identity and testing. Not one or the other. Both.” The wilderness is where calling is clarified, where identity is proven, where leaders are forged.

And so with us: our wilderness seasons are not punishments, but preparation. They strip us of shortcuts and surface-level performance. They teach us to live from God’s voice, not from our need for validation.

A Prophetic Call

This is not just encouragement—it’s a prophetic word for our time. The Kingdom needs leaders who shoulder weight, not escape it. Who embrace the difficult, not avoid it. Who welcome the narrow road because they know it is the only path where Christ Himself walks.

When Jesus told Peter, “Feed my sheep,” He wasn’t offering a sentimental moment. He was calling Peter into a life of shouldering Kingdom responsibility. That same call still rings out today.

So here is the challenge:

• Don’t flee from imposter syndrome—listen to it. Let it humble you, let it drive you to dependence, let it form courage.

  
  

• Don’t despise the wilderness—embrace it. It is God’s chosen instrument to refine and prepare you for weightier responsibility.

  
  

• Don’t walk alone—find your tribe. We need communities that build courage, hold us accountable, and move Kingdom culture from an idea into a way of life.

  
  
  
  

Beyond Ourselves

Imposter syndrome will always show up. The wilderness will always test us. But grace will always meet us there. And on the other side, the fruit of perseverance will be leaders who can feed the sheep, shoulder Kingdom weight, and embody a better way of life in Christ.

The world is desperate for such leaders. Will we be them?

A Pastoral Word

There is something about the American worldview and culture that beats against this way of thinking. Everything in our environment trains us to avoid loss, pursue comfort, and build identities around self-sufficiency. To die to self, to live by faith, and to welcome the wilderness feels unnatural in a society addicted to ease and obsessed with progress.

Ripping that worldview out of our hearts is a painful, scary, and grieving process—and it never really quits. The Spirit continually presses us into seasons of surrender, stripping away the illusion of control and calling us to deeper trust. And that hurts. But it is the hurt of healing, the pain of pruning, the grief that leads to life.

If you feel the weight of that struggle, you are not alone. The wilderness is holy ground, not wasted ground. Stay the course. Desire the difficult. Shoulder the Kingdom weight. And in time, you will hear the same voice Peter heard on the beach after the resurrection: “Feed my sheep.”