Measuring Up

The enemy uses the world to tell us lies that keep us from living the life of peace God intends for us to live. These lies are used by the enemy to pull us down and keep us from experiencing the peace God has for us.

One lie the world would have us to believe is You’ll Never Measure Up.

This lie is all about comparing ourselves with others. Just like the magazine covers tell us we need to have the perfect home, perfect job, perfect body, and perfect relationships in order to measure up to the world’s standards.

I love this quote by Theodore Roosevelt.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”

When we are so focused on comparing ourselves with others, we lose our joy. It’s hard to live a peaceful life when we feel like everyone else is doing better than we are.

So what truth can we replace this lie with?

With God’s help, you can be successful in what He calls you to do.

God has a specific call on each person’s life. Just because you may have many things in common with someone else and look like you are on the same path, there are so many variables in each of our lives that there is no way we can adequately compare ourselves with any one else.

We all have different life experiences that cause each of our paths to be unique.

Here are real life applications that can help keep us from comparing ourselves with others.

1. Seek God’s plan for your life. This is easier said than done, I know. But one way to go about this is to look where you are in your life right now. Are you a wife, mother, grandmother, employee…See what roles you are already fulfilling. Even if this is not where God intends you to be forever, do your best to be faithful to where you are now.

Luke 16:10 reminds us that “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”

2. If possible, remove yourself from situations that cause you to compare yourself with others. As much as I love connecting with people through social media, I have found that the more time I spend there, the more I tend to compare myself with others. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest can all be great tools, but I’m sure you know how destructive they can be. If you are finding yourself more discouraged than uplifted when you are on social media, you probably need to take a break or break away from the connections that discourage you the most.

3. Keep a journal listing things you are grateful for and successes that you’ve had.  I have started a new journal this year where I list things I’d like to accomplish for the day and write down things I’m thankful for. Then the next day when I write, I list the things I actually got accomplished the day before and call them wins. Reframing my to do list has totally changed my attitude. I find that I often accomplish more than I think because I can write down everything I did. Then I can give God the glory for those wins. You might want to try this just to help yourself realize how much you are doing and show yourself that you do not need to compare yourself to anyone else.

Remember, the world would like us to believe that we will never measure up. Don’t believe it! Trust that God will help you to succeed in whatever He calls you to do.