“Her hair is so much prettier than my hair.”
“She’s gorgeous and amazing at sports.”
“She is such a people
person. I wish I was that outgoing.”
Thoughts. They're just little ideas that flutter
across the stage of my mind. Sometimes on
a daily basis if I’m not careful. There’s this little creature that I
like to call the “Joy Thief." He’s a sneaky little guy. He’ll snatch your
thoughts of contentedness from you in a flash, and he’ll leave you with the
feeling that you’re enough. Not pretty enough, outgoing enough, skinny
enough, smart enough, or talented enough.
To many, the Joy Thief
is also known as Comparison.Comparison is something I have struggled with for as long as I can
remember. It’s damaging. It sucks the
happiness right out of your soul and leaves you feeling gloomy, worthless, and
like you’re on the bottom of the totem pole. God knows exactly when the Joy
Thief sees an opening into your thoughts and goes in for the kill. He knows and
understands this struggle, and He wants you to have the joy of knowing how
precious you are to Him. A passage that has been very near and dear to my heart
when I have struggled with comparing myself to others is Psalm 139. I encourage
you to read the whole chapter, but what I would like to focus on today are
verses 13-16:
For you formed my inward parts; You
covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully
made; Marvelous are your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was
not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the
lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And
in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet
there were none of them. (Psalm 139 NKJV)
God knew every aspect of you before you were even conceived. He
knew exactly what you would look like, whether you would be soft spoken or
super outgoing, tall or short. He already knew your likes and dislikes. He made
you, you. He created each of us with
the beautiful gift of womanhood, but He gave each of us specific attributes
that would make each woman a unique masterpiece. By comparing ourselves to each
other we are saying to our Creator that He has messed up.
But you know
what? He doesn’t mess up. He never has, and He never will.
You are His beautiful creation. You take His
breath away. He loves your every quirk. He loves that you have crazy fun curly
hair or super straight sleek hair because He made you that way. The way to truly defeat this
Joy Thief is by becoming more like your Savior, Jesus Christ. Fall more in
love with our Lord day by day. Let Him show you from His word how much you mean
to Him. He loved you enough that He sent
His only begotten Son to die for your sins.
Don’t let the
Joy Thief win today.
I pray that today you will be
able to see yourself through God’s eyes: a beautiful masterpiece with a
beautiful purpose.
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