Daily Dwelling

One of my all time favorite verses comes from Psalm 139. It says “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (v. 13-16)

When we are unable to believe the intention with which our Father in Heaven created us, we become enslaved to comparison and envy. 

I know that many of us struggle with the temptation to compare. I tell my high school girls all the time that the temptation of comparison does not go away when you leave high school. It will follow you into your college years and it will follow you into each stage of your life. It follows you as you get married, have children, and raise children, right?

Social media is unhelpful in resisting this temptation. Are you skinny enough? Do you have the newest Lululemon activewear that’s trending all over Tik Tok? Is your two year old child eating a whole plate of veggies every meal? Are you buying food with dyes and preservatives in it? You get the picture. 

Satan loves to get in our heads and convince us of things like we don’t do enough for our kids. Or our marriage is not as good as someone else’s. Or maybe the lie that we will never measure up to the standard. Remember how Satan got thrown out of Heaven? Pride and selfish ambition. He was jealous of the praise that God received! We see this displayed again when he tempts Jesus in the wilderness to give him praise rather than God. 

When  comparison occurs, all it does is elevate one person and put down the other. It fails to appreciate the way that God has designed each part of that person. 

Comparison can start with something as simple as feeling or looking different from others around you. Maybe that has to do with your body image. Maybe that has to do with the way your marriage is designed or how you choose schooling for your children. 

The bottom line is that Satan tries to use the idea of feeling different or being different from others as a negative trait. But when you’re able to see your differences as the way that God designed you, you begin to recognize that you have a way to show God‘s light in a way that others cannot. You have a purpose and a calling that Satan does not want you to fulfill. 

When I am tempted to compare these are some truths I remind myself of: 

God knows and loves me. He knows the way that I am wired more than anybody. He knows my personality, my shortcomings, my giftings, and my interests. And he chose me to be the mother for my children and the wife of my husband. He chose me to shepherd the younger generation alongside my husband. 

I remind myself that it is in the refining, stretching and conviction that God is shaping me into a more godly mother for my children. So you’re right, maybe I am more outspoken than other mothers and it’s an area of weakness for me personally. However, God knew that when he made me the mother of my children at this specific time of my life. Or maybe you have a unique interest that made you feel “different” most of your life that your baby will grow up to also love. How sweet will that be? 

When we can take a second to acknowledge the beautiful Creator God and appreciate the way that He has designed us and our families, we can stop Satan from tempting us to compare. When we can become confident with where our family is at because God is the one who is sovereign over the timing and the condition of our family, we can have gratitude and joy instead of the shame that comes from comparison. When we can live in the biblical truth that God created us for a specific purpose with specific gifts to do His will, we lose the desire to wish we were someone else instead.

In the moments where you feel tempted to compare, remind yourself of God’s truth and live in the freedom of knowing who you are in Him.