{WELCOME Encouragement for Today Readers & Online Study Friends!!}
In my P31 Encouragement for Today devotion, I posed the question… Do you ever feel like you don’t measure up?
And now I want us to dig a little deeper. Have you ever stopped to ask, “Who is saying these things? Who is causing me to doubt myself? Is it me? Has something from my past led me to believe this? Or is it the enemy of my soul disguising his voice as my own?”
It is crucial for us to realize we have an enemy. Satan is the father of lies, and there is no truth in him (John 8:44). And he loves when we believe his deception and fall into the distraction of feeling inadequate and insecure. {It’s a huge distraction!}
The meaning of the word lie is “a falsehood with the intent to deceive.” Satan intends to deceive us and he does so by getting us to take our eyes off of who we are in Christ and focus on our flaws. That way we’ll spend our days figuring out how we can hide them. 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 asked 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 is the same for you and me as it was for Eve, but we don’t have to go along with him. Instead we can refute his lies and temptations with truth. If we have put our trust in Christ as our Savior, we can stand on the promises of who we are in Him.
When you’re tempted to measure up today, focus “up” instead and remember Whose you are and who you are! Here is a compilation of Scriptures to remind us of who we are in Christ.
I am accepted . . .
- John 1:12 I am God’s child.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.
- Ephesians 1:3–8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
- Hebrews 4:14–16 I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.
I am secure . . .
- Romans 8:28 I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.
- Romans 8:31–39 I am free from condemnation. I cannot be separated from God’s love.
- 2 Corinthians 1:21–22 I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God.
- Colossians 3:1–4 I am hidden with Christ in God.
- Philippians 1:6 I am confident God will complete the good work He started in me.
- 2 Timothy 1:7 I have been given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.
I am significant . . .
- John 15:16, I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17–21, I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
- Ephesians 2:6, I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
- Ephesians 2:10, I am God’s workmanship.
- Ephesians 3:12, I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
- Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.
Which one of these promises encourages your heart most today?
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Knowing that I can approach God in freedom and with confidence is an amazing feeling. It makes my prayers more bold and honest.
■Ephesians 1:3–8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
I struggle with this verse because I was adopted as a baby and it has been a hard frame of reference for me. I have lived my life under a spirit of rejection, feeling like I was not good enough for my biological parents to want me. My adoptive mother constantly compared me to others, my adopted brother, her friends children, etc. She made me feel like she got a dud when she adopted me and that if she could she would return me. I grew up believing that I was never going to measure up or be good enough. As a teenager I gave up and stopped trying to be good enough. As a result I did many things that I regret and am ashamed of.
As a result, I feel the same way about my relationship with God – that I do not measure up and will never be good enough for him to accept me. Although I have been a Christian for 30 years, I continue to struggle with this. Thank you for these verses. I am going to copy them and post them where I can see them and read them whenever the doubt creeps in.
Thank you so much for this message. I have spent most of my life trying to measure up in so many areas of my life. I am now gaining the confidence to be who God made me to be and follow his path for me. Thank you for the scriptures to remind me of who I am and whose I am.
The affirmations under “I am secure” speak most loudly to me today. Insecurity is a problem I am constantly battling. I fight against the orphan syndrome – I’m adopted – but I know that thinking what I think is a choice. Never in all my years of counseling did anyone tell me it would be so difficult to harness my thoughts and take them captive. Today I am standing on Philippians 1:6… I am confident God will complete the good work He started in me.
Blessings, in Psalms 139 it stated that God new everything about us before we became a fetus in our mother’s womb, it also says that He knitted me/us to be fearfully wonderfully made, I am uniquely made by Him, God knitted each of us to His likeness and purpose, and despite how others look and what they have, we are to be proud that we ladies a rubies to God because there is not one ruby that is made perfect. Satan can’t accept that God loves all His children despite our faults and tries to make us feel we will never measure up to God, cause we can’t measure up to those around us or to our self, but I am learning to look in the mirror and see I am what God made me to be so nothing is wrong with me this is what my Father knitted together. Love you all.
One additional prayer request. There is a used bookstore in my town that is going out of business. It is a very special store that has served our community for at least two decades. The owner is not necessarily the best “business man” but he demonstrates true humility, generosity, trust and compassion towards his customers and the other neighboring businesses. And his taste in books is exquisite. For him this is more than a store, it is his family. Please pray for the owner, his customers and our community. That God’s will would be done.
2 Timothy 1:7 I have been given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.
Philippians 1:6 I am confident God will complete the good work He started in me.
Romans 8:31–39 I am free from condemnation. I cannot be separated from God’s love.
These are POWERFUL promises.
Thank you for sharing and reminding.
Grace
What a great post and reminder how much Jesus loves us. Thank you for this post!
Satan has definitely been keeping me busy trying to hide my flaws. Almost 10 months ago I went off med to control panic attacks because I felt like God was calling me to walk a road with him that I had been too afraid too for 20 years. I’ve always wanted to figure out if the panic attacks were a chemical imbalance or an emotional issue. I’ve got an awesome counselor and a naturopath that have both helped me tremendously, but the real test comes in me trusting God. Fear rules my life, even though Christ promises that He’s given me a sound mind. I cling to His promises, wanting desperately for that to be enough, and never feeling like it is. I struggle with confidence, measuring up, everything every single chapter has talked about so far, I feel like a mess some days. I spend most of my energy hiding this from people so they don’t think I’m a freak and it’s exhausting. My world is pretty small right now and consequently very lonely at times. The words you’ve posted here Renee are just another glimmer of light that makes me realize how deceived I am by Satan and how much I need His thoughts to be my thoughts.
I totally understand that struggle dealing with anxiety/panic attacks. I deal with them too; however I heard on the new today when you feel alone. Just remember, you are never alone. Jesus is right there and will be there everywhere you go. Trust me it’s not easy but you know that is one person you can count on. He is there waiting for us to seek Him with all our hearts.
Thank you Shannon. It’s good to know I’m not alone.
This devotion and the one through Proverbs31 ministries have blessed me so much this week! In all that you shared in these devotions and in chapter 6, I felt like I was reading the story of my life! It was both convicting and enlightening. I have been inspired and encouraged by the section of scriptures that remind me of who I am in Christ. I have printed these out to meditate during my quiet time, and I plan to transfer these to index cards to memorize and view … at work, at home, in the car, and in my purse. I have already experienced an inner strength that has come through countering the lies of Satan with the truths from God’s Word.
■2 Corinthians 1:21–22 I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God. It takes a lot to stop comparing ourselves to others- glory and thanks to God He is helping me in this area- chapter 6 touched me in a lot of places – but i can see growth and how God is working in and with me to stop the comparsion game- what He has for me is for me, His plan for me is different for me than everyone else- He is working in each of us individually and if I keep my focus up the enemy will not be able to convence me anymore I am not good enough or will enough I have been established, anointed and sealed b God and that’s good enough. thanks Renee. Ck out myfacebook page for a I’ m good enough tag. facebook.com/slywillie
Renee,
Thank you so much for this!
I constantly feel like I don’t measure up.
Daily – I turn this over to God – asking Him to help me not to compare myself to others.
I know all of those wonderful truths in my head – but obviously – I need to cling to them in my heart!
AND I know that it does not matter how I compare to others, but it is still a struggle for me – &
I get “down” on myself!
I must be allowing Satan to chisel at me each day, & I am still going to fight daily against Satan!
Throughout my day – I need to do like you suggested & think about “Whose I am & who I am!”
Thanks for this encouragement. It has come just at the right time. I am working with a christian counselor right now on things from my past that have caused me to become a very unemotional person. This post reminds me that Satan is the one filling my thoughts of self doubt and telling me I am worthless. With each passing day I am tuning out Satans lies and tuning in to God’s truth. Thank you Renee for your words of encouragment and this wonderful book and online study. God Bless you all!
Thank you for your words! As a young girl entering puberty and being on a emotional roller coaster with my ever changing hormones I sought an intimate relationship with my parents. The only thing I knew was to become angry lashing out at them saying hurtful words. My parents didn’t know how to connect with me or really stop and take time to find that relationship but rather threatened to give me up for adoption if I didn’t measure up to what they considered was right at age 11. I spent a lot of time alone, remorseful of how I felt but not able to verbalize it as a young child.My parents did alot of threatening…to give me up, they told me pastor, teachers etc. My home wasn’t a safe haven and my church and school weren’t either with eyes looking on me.
I can look back now and see how emotionally unavailable they were and still are. I have grown up thinking it was all me but having a daughter now at that age I know that I was normal but their lack of love was abnormal. I was craving a relationship with them. They took my confidence, trust, intimacy, love and have caused me to constantly try and be the best because maybe I can earn their love or earn my “place”
I am so lucky that I have found your book as this year has been about healing and growing closer with God. I feel like a big weight has been lifted that I am good enough because of HIM and I will never be rejected by Him. My childhood has taught me that I am strong enough because of HIM and goodness will come out of this. Its taken 34 years but I know I’m on the path to healing.
To God be all the glory!
I am accepted. With no conditions. I don’t have to get it right. That,s what speaks to me the most.
I find myself CONSTANTLY comparing myself to other women. This is such a struggle for me! I would never in a million years be as hard on another person as I am on myself! How silly is that? =D Thank you for addressing it – I need to just pray through those times and get myself into NEW habits centered around Christ’s love for me. However, I also need to start taking better care of myself and lose some weight – being healthier in body helps us also feel better in spirit, since God created these amazing bodies of ours! =D
Whenever I am tempted to “measure” myself by the world’s standards or by comparing myself to others’, I remember this verse:
Proverbs 16:11
Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are of his making.
I remind myself that I do not want to be weighed on ANY scale of this world: physically, financially, emotionally, or any other way. The only scales I want to be weighed on is the LORD’s…and I want Him to use the weights that are of HIS making, not mine or the people around me.
Renee
I can’t believe this how God works in everyway this devotion was actually said after my Zumba devotion. It was amazing. Just thought I would share that with you.
Another thing that struck me is you can’t put hope in a man, you can only put hope in God.
When Paul warns us that those who measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves” are not wise (2 Cor 10:12)
Our struggle with comparison will always leave us feeling like we’re lacking something. We try to do more and be more, but its never quite enough. We still feel insecure and wonder what’s wrong with us
The truth is that we are all “wrecked up” but we are loved with reckless abandon by the King of Glory. We may be rejected by man, but we are accepted and adored by our Maker. We may be betrayed and cast aside, but we are chosen and redeemed by our heavenly Father.
Also God is in Control
Thank you sister! I am amazed at how the Lord God uses people to direct our thoughts and gleam truths from His Word that we hadn’t been aware of. I had never thought about the issues involved when Eve decided she “needed” more than all she had been provided with. I wish my sisters here in Brazil could benefit from these devotionals (they have to be translated into Portuguese though).
Blessings,
Margarida Marques
Renee, devotions seem to come at the right time in my life, just as this one has.even thought i do not intent on comparing myself with others it does happen from time to time, Not so much with material items, but more with measuring up with myself. When I make a mistake I have no problem admitting it and take the responsibility, but then that’s when the doubt creeps in, is this the right job for me or is this where God wants me to be? I think when you work at job so hard and are so truthful but then your told you did this or you had that on a continual bases, it seems to wear on you. So now with this bible study, I have place each weeks memory verse right on my computer to read daily over and over and over. When days are really hard and the shadow seems to get darker and darker, I then add the ear phone to my ear, turn on the mp3 player and listen to Christian songs. I am going to type and print the above references to: I am accepted, I am secure and I am significant to carry with me daily to read in times of doubt or measurements. I praise the Lord for your ability to help us all learn and relate to Gods word. I am in the process of saving so that I may provide a couple of books to my friends with a prayer that they will devote to doing this bible study with you. Have a beautiful day. God Bless w Love