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Do you ever compare yourself to other women and feel like you don’t measure up?
Maybe you feel think you’re not as smart, pretty, fun, organized or as good at _______ as they are.
I’m sharing my heart over at P31 today about how easy it is to think that if we had more or knew more, we’d be secure. But the truth is, even people who have it all still struggle with feelings of insecurity. The Bible opens with teh story of a woman who had everything but it still wasn’t enough (Genesis 2).
Even though God established Eve’s worth as His child; the crown of His creation and lavished her with gifts of intimacy, beauty, security, significance, and purpose – it wasn’t enough. Satan convinced Eve to take her eyes off what she did have and focus on what she didn’t have.
Have you also heard Satan’s whispers, saying you’re not all you could be — or should be?
Just like Eve, you and I have an enemy. The Bible calls him the father of lies, and tell us there is no truth in him (John 8:44). Interestingly, the meaning of the word lie is “a falsehood with the intent to deceive.”
Satan doesn’t just lie. He has intends to deceive us by getting us to take our eyes off of who we are and what we have in Christ. It’s exactly what he did with Eve:
“Then the eyes of both [Adam and Eve] were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’
He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’” (Gen. 3:7–11)
In response, God asks who told them they were naked. In other words, “Who told you that something is wrong with you?” By asking this, God made sure they knew someone was casting shame on them—and it wasn’t Him.
The enemy whispered lies into their hearts, causing them to move away from Him and from each other.
Satan’s intent for us is exactly the same as it was for Eve. He wants us to believe his deceptions and fall into the distraction of feeling inadequate, insecure and like we’ll never measure up. But we don’t have to go along with him. Instead we can pray, “Lord, help me recognize Satan’s lies, refuse his temptations and rely on Your truth about me instead.”
If we have put our trust in Jesus as our Savior, we can stand on the promises of who we are in Him. And when we are tempted to measure up, we can choose to focus “up” instead as we rely on these truths to remind our hearts of who you are in Christ.
I am accepted . . .
- I am God’s child. John 1:12
- I have been bought with a price and I belong to God. 1 Corinthians 6:19–20
- I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child. Ephesians 1:3–8
- I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:14–16
I am secure . . .
- I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances. Romans 8:28
- I am free from condemnation. I cannot be separated from God’s love. Romans 8:31–39
- I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God. 2 Corinthians 1:21–22
- I am hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1–4
- I am confident God will complete the good work He started in me. Philippians 1:6
- I have been given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
I am significant . . .
- I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. John 15:16
- I am a minister of reconciliation for God. 2 Corinthians 5:17–21
- I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm. Ephesians 2:6
- I am God’s workmanship. Ephesians 2:10
- I may approach God with freedom and confidence. Ephesians 3:12
- I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
___________
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Awesome to see your post on comparison today, Renee! I actually quoted a passage from this chapter of A Confident Heart Devotional in my recent release, Over It. Conquering Comparison to Live Out God’s Plan:) I get excited seeing God’s girls letting go of comparison!
Thank you for this reminder of who we are in Christ. We are daughters of our King, we are royalty. He loves us more than we can fathom. Thank you, Lord for loving me and all my sisters in Christ Jesus.
Thank you so much! As always, when I need it the most is when I get encouraging words from you. I have always felt not good enough, less than, and the horrible word jealousy. I need a reminder always that satan is indeed working on and succeeding in making me feel the worse about myself.My favorite verse is, I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me! I will start repeating this over and over
Thank you so much for reminding me, I needed it.
This message of yours came to me in my daily proverbs 31 email. It’s amazing because that very night before I received the email I was struggling with comparing myself to the other women in my Bible study and it was causing great anxiety and fear. I then read this message the next morning and it instantly perked me up. It was the kick I needed. I can’t wait to read the whole book. Thank you.
Phillippians 4:13 ” I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”…..I continually cling to this promise. It has helped me quit smoking, deal with a breast cancer diagnosis and most recently in my weight loss journey. I repeat it to myself whenever tempted by foods that are not advantageous to losing weight.
I truly love your Confident Heart book and Devotional.
Thank you for the devotional. I’ve been struggling for a while now and am working on changing my mind and telling the devil that God has this. God knows everything that is going to happen and doesn’t give us anything we can’t handle.
Thanks so much for this, it spoke to my heart and is very timely for me. The promise that stands out for me is: “I am confident God will complete the good work He started in me” – Philippians 1:6 I am currently going through a difficult time with the loss of my job about 9 months ago and at times it is hard to remain positive. But I know that he will place me where I am meant to be.
I have been having a big issue with looking to others for approval and comparing myself with others. I have learned that I should be looking to God for approval and trying my best to study His word and to try my hardest to be what it tells me I should be. Its a battle, but one I intend to win. Your post help me to keep fighting. Thank you!
I have alway struggled a lot with confidence and since becoming a mom, comparing has gone up more than ever and my confidence down more than ever. I want to write your entire message down on a post it on my bathroom mirror. Since my mirror isnt quite big enough, I will settle for the prayer you left us with, our doubts and insecurities are from satan. I will try hard during my next comparing game to remind myself that it’s Satan luring me like Eve. Thanks for your message. God’s blessings on your ministry.
I, too, struggle with the constant comparing of myself to other women. Today’s devotion really helped me remember that I can only find my significance in Jesus Christ himself! Thank you!
Dear Renee, Your faithfulness in sharing and encouraging God’s deep love for each of us is a refreshing drink in dry times! When we treat ourselves well and then share the same grace and encouragement with others the blessings keep going and growing. Sometimes we unintentionally make life so much harder than it needs to be for ourselves and others. I hope others spread your words of encouragement so that all of us will know the love, joy, peace, and hope of our Savior and friend Jesus. Thank you for your faithfulness!
We do foster care. A family of children are going to be adopted. I am nervous about “not being good enough” when the new parents come to meet their children. Reading this put me at peace and reminds me I may not be on their wealth level but I am on the level of wealth and knowledge that God wants me to be. That is all that matters.
Thank you for the beautiful words of encouragement.
Hi Renee,
Thank you for all the encouraging words you share. The Lord has blessed me through your encouragement.
Thank you for these words of encouragement. This past year, our oldest has moved 4 hours away & is starting his family. Our youngest is finishing her first year of college and moving home for the summer. These changes have required me to remember to rely on God to “grow” as a momma. It’s a mixed blessing to watch our children grow up and spread their wings. I have to continue to focus on the fact that God loves our kiddos even more than my momma’s heart. The scriptures you’ve shared are a blessing.
Renee this devotion was just for me. My whole life I have compared myself to others and made choices and decisions because I thought that is what others wanted or based on their opinions. Sad to say a couple of years ago God showed me what a sin it is to compare myself to others. I am doing better at this but satan is still there to whisper negative thoughts. I love that you have given us scripture and I plan to print it and memorize it so when satan tries to deceive me I can have my armor of God’s word. Thank you for sharing this. God bless you.
Dear Renee, Thank you for your words of encouragement. God has given you a gift of words to encourage many women. Your book is an awesome read. Your devotional today is just what I needed. Thank you and may our Lord bless you! — Susan
Isn’t it funny how sometimes I feel the P31 Daily Encouragement was written specifically for me?! Thank you for the the reminder that “comparison will always leave us feeling like we don’t measure up.” This is so true! I compare myself to my children’s stepmother all too often. I’m left feeling inadequate and stressed every time! I’m my mind I always fall short because my house isn’t spotless and dinner isn’t planned.
I’m focusing on the daily prayer:
Lord, thank You that in Christ I’m chosen, holy and dearly loved. When I’m tempted to measure myself according to the world’s standards or my foolish comparisons, help me recognize Satan’s lies, refuse his temptations and rely on Your truth about me instead. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Thank you for your message. What spoke to me the most were your lists of ‘I am…’ statements. I know Satan tells lies but sometimes they get past my radar and I start thinking that way. Thank you so much.
My favorite line is “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13” as it is a reminder that I am not in this life alone, no matter how alone I may feel at times. God is always with me. And I need to be reminded of that sometimes.
I like the version that says, I’m God’s masterpiece. I know that an artist can take a long time to create a masterpiece and a lot of work and changes are done before it’s finished. God is taking His time molding me into His perfection which isn’t necessarily the same as mine.
Thank you for sharing. This is an area I struggle with daily. I love how God brings confirmation by different people in our lives. My pastor just said last night at church that the devil whispers and is trying to get us to doubt the truth about God. I never thought about it the way you with Eve. Thank you again. I would love to win!
When I hear the enemy whisper “you’re not all you could be or should be,” I will hold onto the truth of Philippians 1:6. “I am confident God will complete the good work He started in me.”
Thank you, Renee, for reminding me who and Whose I am. : )
Thank you so much for this post! This semester I taught my first college class, which was a great experience…but between issues with my dad and feeling like my co-teacher was everything I’m not, the attacks left me with a deep feeling of inadequacy. I’ve learned a lot from the experience, from both my students and the struggles I faced, and I’m glad to have these verses as a reminder that in God’s eyes I am capable, worthy, and wanted. Thank you!
Thank you!
I never knew that God loves me for who I am and not who I’m comparing myself to. I loved this and so glad God directed me to this teaching.
Quite a few years ago, I was on an excellent women’s slo-pitch softball team that had a record that was pretty good. We were challenged more by teams outside of our town to really “take us on.” I played the shortstop position, and really prized my “good arm.” There were 2 of us Kathy and myself, who could be counted on for large, home run hits as we generally “belted that ball way out to the far fence.” What’s my reason for sharing this? Now, I have found myself “getting ushered by Satan” and my confidence is wavering. Who I am in Christ? NOW I AM GOD’S CHILD John 1:12 and I AM FREE FROM CONDEMNATION. I CANNOT BE SEPARATED FROM GOD’S LOVE. Romans 8:31-39 I believe I have my God-mindset, and I am going forward!
Amen
A prayer answered!
One of the things I always believed was that my future would be better than my present. I’ve had this faith that something awesome was waiting in my future for ages. Until I turned 30 and started to panic! Surely this awesome future should’ve been here by now! I should be living in it, not still waiting for it! After all, the average life expectancy for females in my country is 60 – I felt like I had very little future left to bask in this awesomness and be happy & content. With this panic came comparison – and I was less than mediocre. I prayed fervently for breakthrough and even more fervently for deliverance! Somewhere along the way, I just stopped hoping. This year I felt not only do I not measure up, the future doesn’t hold anything better – this less-than-mediocrity is as good as it gets for me.
For the past two weeks I have been praying for joy and strength. I was honest with God that I had lost my joy because all my hope had come to nothing so far and I was afraid this was as good as it would get. And I was hurting. I desperately begged Him to speak to me. To reassure me. And then this morning I opened my email and had lots of unread mail. I chose to read Renee’s first because the subject line caught my attention – that’s exactly how I was felt! And there it was! My reassurance!! He did speak to me!!
Wow I needed this tonight. I need to remind myself that God is with me and I need to understand that even though I’m unworthy Je loves me and is taking care of me I need to believe and trust.
Powerful words! I am secure…established, anointed and sealed by God.
Love this!
Thank you Rene, I have struggled all of my life with self esteem and having confidence. I realize now that it is Saton. God has a plan for my life , all of us, and saton lies to prevent that from happening.My daughters and son struggle as well.
2 Timothy 1:7 sure hits home with me today. I’ve been battling Breast Cancer since August of 2014 with a ton of complications, too numerous to mention here. Still battling and still trying to heal and that is where 2 Timothy 1:7 comes in as a constant reminder that God gave me a Spirit of Power to beat this. A Spirit of Love to help my fellow Breast Cancer Sisters along the way, and of Sound Mind even in the midst of horrible pain.
Today it begin with the phone ringing early in the morning prior to me getting up. Then I went to work and it felt like there wasn’the enough time in the day to complete tasks. As the day went by I continued to think of things that needed to be done. Had class tonight but after I got in I said to myself I was going to read my email. I would like to say thanks for these encouraging verses this really put a smile on my face.
Thank you for all of your encouragement…. For helping me to see me as God sees me
We are in the middle of searching for a home in a new area and I definitely needed this reminder that I am secure in Christ. I have been struggling with comparison and a desire to impress others and needed to be reminded of this truth. Thank you!
Low day today so thanks so much for this post. I pray for my acknowledgment that I am enough as is and blessed in Christ Jesus. God bless all of you…
Thanks so much for your post. I have been struggling for years with the comparison demon and God has been freeing me greatly. I have realized through the power of the Lord and the Holy Spirit that I am
you-niquely made and God loves me without me doing anything to get this love. My worth and value has nothing to do with what I have, do, or abilities. I’m precious in His sight just being me.
Thanks for sharing these encouraging words today. It’s just what a new mother of a 7 week old needed to hear on a rough day. I am a child of the most high and loved.
Thank you. I’ve been believing that I may not even really know Christ because my thoughts and feelings are so unChristian and selfish. I’ve been unable to even read the bible because all I see are my failures. I know there should be a spiritual transformation within me, but I seem to be stuck.
Thank you for this today. Insecurity keeps me shackled from shining my true self. Thank you for helping crush those links.
Let’s shine together! I’m encouraged when my sisters are shining their authentic selves. You being you brings out the best in the rest of us. ?
Thanks so much for the truth of who we are and whose we are! “I have been given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.’ Would love to have any of the give-away items!
This was so timely for me as I am.preparing to go back to school in the fall for massage therapy. I have done a lot of comparing over the years and even asked the if I only had this thing too. I am trying this year to get healthy spiritually, mentally and physically. Not doing too bad so far but there is room for improvement in all these areas.
Thank you. I needed the reminder today as this month has been rough. I know God is there for me every day and is our strength but I needed the reminder.
I love the reminder that I am significant because I am God’s workmanship. Eph 2:10
Thank you for the reminder that I can rest in the assurance of Rom. 8:28. I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.
Thank you so much for this reminder tonight Renee! I will be praying about this tonight because so many times I am comparing myself to others and feel like I don’t compare. I also suffer from depression which makes this so much worse. God has promised and gave me so much and I just need to keep reminding myself that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
I always like the verse about I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I have it on a sticky note on my bedroom mirror, so I see it every morning as I get ready. It definitely helps me get through the day.
Today I found myself getting caught up into comparing my workload with someone else. I have to remember who I am and what I’ve been assigned to do.
Thank you for the reminder of “who & Whose I am!” Needed ammunition to fight off attacks of the Enemy.
I just read the blog entry by Renee , called ‘When you feel like you just can’t measure up”. It was so encouraging to me, and a much needed reminder. I printed out the bookmark with the ‘I am’ statements, because I need to study the truth more ! But yes, I think I’m always comparing myself, and almost always coming out on the losing end in my mental court and jury….. Crazy that Satan, who hates the truth, would use part of it but twist it, to get to me. Arggg~ ‘But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory in Jesus Christ our Lord’ ! (Romans 6 / 7)