Written by Sharon Jaynes
01/16/2018
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Can
I tell you a secret? For way too much of my life, I fell into the trap
of comparing myself with others. When I did, I always came up short. I
felt I wasn’t smart enough, strong enough or spiritual enough … just not
enough, period. And because of that, I stayed stuck in a mediocre faith.
Through
the years I’ve learned one valuable truth: The measuring stick will get
you stuck. Comparison is the devil’s tool that’s kept many of us from
stepping into our God-given destinies.
For
about a year, I hung out with Moses by the burning bush. I listened to
Moses argue with God about his insecurities and pondered God’s responses
to all his questions and quandaries.
When
I met up with Moses in Exodus 3, he was an insecure, stuttering
recluse. Yep, we were kindred spirits. He complained he was not good
enough and begged God to pick someone else to address the Pharaoh and
lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. Specifically, he whined he was not a good
speaker, even though centuries later in the New Testament, Stephen
recorded Moses was “powerful in speech and action” (Acts 7:22b, NIV).
So
how do you think Moses came up with the idea he was not a good speaker?
Here’s what I think. I think it happened because Moses compared himself
to other people he thought were good speakers.
Comparison
opens the door for sabotaging lies to steal our confidence and stymie
our courage. Comparison puts up roadblocks along the path to fulfilling
our God-given calling by setting an undefined standard of approval and
acceptance.
We
fear the REJECT stamp will come crashing down with wet ink that mars
all of life. We fear that perhaps we’re fatally flawed … as confidence
seeps through the holes of insecurity, punctured and punctuated by
comparison.
We compare our abilities to someone else’s and come to this conclusion: I could never do it like she does it.
And you know what? We were never meant to! God doesn’t need two people
just alike. He has uniquely and precisely created you and me with
specific gifts and talents to do exactly what He’s called us to do.
David wrote: “For
you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I
praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are
wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13-14).
David
wasn’t praising God for the way He flung the stars in the night sky,
set the spinning earth on its axis or stocked the oceans with sea
creatures of every kind. David was marveling at the magnificent
masterpiece called David. Me. You. He knew that full well.
You are God’s workmanship. His masterpiece — His grand finale of all creation. Do you know that full well?
God
knows our inadequacies and insecurities. He knows what caused them and
who caused them. He saw you and me before we even had them. Yet God
chose us before we were born for a purpose — to fulfill a plan in a
predetermined point in time (Acts 17:26).
It’s
time we stop comparing ourselves with others. I know it’s hard … Boy,
is it hard! But the measuring stick will get you stuck.
God made you to be you! He thinks you’re amazing. And so do I.
Heavenly
Father, please forgive me for comparing myself with others rather than
praising You for the way You’ve knit me together and gifted me. I know
I’m Your workmanship — Your handiwork. Today, I let go of the measuring
stick of comparison, and take hold of the way You’ve uniquely fashioned
me for Your purposes. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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Truth For Today
Ephesians
2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
(ESV)
More from Proverbs 31 Ministries, here
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