Comparison kills… It really does.
It kills dreams, it kills excitement, it kills relationships and it slowly kills you.
I learned this the hard way.
Recently, I started to notice that I would compare myself to everyone else. I would compare how I reacted to things, my attitude in different situations and – what started to hurt me so much- I started to compare my relationship with Christ to the relationships that others had with Him. At least the ones it seemed they had.
My thoughts were things like “…but she has so much more wisdom, …but she doesn’t get angry as fast and has a better attitude when bad things happen, …she prays so much better than I do, …her quiet time journal is so much prettier than mine.” I was a comparing machine!
I would throw all these things at Christ. Almost as if I wasn’t happy with who I was growing to be.
In the past two years or so I have grown so much as a person, but most importantly in Christ.
He continuously teaches me and shows me things about myself that I haven’t noticed before.
I’ve grown to never want to settle. Once God does one thing with me and pushes me further, I just want more and more and more because I know that WITH Him all things are possible. I know in my heart that He wants to use me in ways that I cannot imagine. I don’t boast in my own abilities, but in Christ.
Something else that He’s placed in my heart is a love for missions and for sharing the gospel.
I started to grow impatient because SO MANY people that I know have gone on mission trips and have had so many opportunities to share. I basically started to feel as if what I have done and the opportunities that Christ has given me aren’t enough.
And then…. Christ showed me how He is NEVER late.
Just when I started to realize what I was doing, one of my wonderful, wise, sisters in Christ shared this on Facebook with a group of ladies I am a part of..
As I read that, it was almost as if Christ was saying “HELLOOOOOO, I’M RIGHT HERE!!
You are where I want you and you’ve had the opportunities that you’ve had because I PROVIDED them for you. YOU are just where you need to be.
I’ve slowly learned that when you feel or hear things that make you feel bad, less than, or degraded is when you’re allowing Satan’s lies to take over your mind.
When you feel tempted to compare, it’s just Satan lying to you. He wants you to be jealous. He wants you to be upset and feel unfulfilled. He wants you to try and rush God’s plans. He wants you to try and take control of your own life.
When I read this quote I felt this instant load taken off my back.
I am me. I am where I’m supposed to be. Christ will use me when and where He chooses to use me. He loves me. He loves my efforts although sometimes they might not be the best.
This blog post is for my friends that are comparing themselves to others… but before it was for you, it was for me. “She’s shorter, taller, skinnier, thicker, blue eyed, brown eyed, blonde, brunette, red headed, extroverted, introverted, better at basketball, better in math, in a relationship, knows more scripture…”, and the list continues. There will always be things that you will want to have but don’t or a place where you want to be, but can’t.
IT’S OKAY.
Lift your head, princess (or prince).
Nobody is perfect in their own eyes, but in the eyes of Christ, those who have put their trust in Him have been made flawless, by Jesus’ blood.
God made you. You are beautiful. He has you exactly where He wants you.
Stay in the word. Get to know Him, seek His will and slowly, what you want will align with His perfect plan for you.
Talk to Him. Spend time getting to know Him through prayer…ask Him for wisdom. Ask for peace about where you are right now. Ask Him for love… love for who you are.
Lastly, do all that you can to be more like Him daily.
BREATHE and LOVE WHERE YOU ARE.
Just when I was feeling imperfect, and complaining to Christ, He said to me: “You may not be perfect, but I still chose to use you because you don’t have to be perfect to do my work. My presence inside of you is more than perfect and I equip you to do what I have called you to do.”
This made me feel so loved. It made me want to boast in my imperfections. Christ STILL wants to use me although I am far from perfect.
Jesus makes me perfect.
Love CHRIST and love YOU,
Valerie