If only I could be
like ______ .
There are so many
times where I find myself comparing my abilities to others -- what they can do
versus what I can do…or rather, what I think I should be able to do. I never seem to measure up in my head,
short-changing myself and excepting that I may never be good enough. I find myself constantly seeking the approval
of others to confirm if what I am choosing to do is good for me…good for
anyone.
Now, receiving
guidance is genius, and I highly suggest finding people in your life who truly
know you and can use their wisdom to help you on your journey of life, because
they have experience, because they are to be trusted. But I start getting into trouble when I need
to satisfy myself with the opinions of man…because I'm just not content without
it. And this is bad news bears, because
we humans are of the folly sort. If all
my confidence is in the opinions of others, what they think I can and cannot
do, then I will never be confident -- Simple as that.
I say that I am
living the life God has set out before me, but I am not even bothering to seek
His council or His approval first, or worse, not at all. Am I neglecting the fact that His grace is
sufficient?
There has to come a
time where I am willing to give up my full self -- every single ounce of self
-- in order to gain Him...laying aside all human opinions and comparisons,
being content in Him. He created every
person as an individual, meaning, we are
all gifted with various strengths and abilities; I can never be you, and you
can never be me. We are called for our
own specific purpose, whether we choose to believe in it or not.
The Lord has
continually blessed me with so many opportunities to use my strengths that He
has given me for His glory -- it shouldn't matter whether I or anyone else
thinks I'm capable or will succeed; as long as I do everything through Him, I
am able. My abilities have nothing to do
with it.
It is all Him.
"My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciated the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations that cut me down to size -- abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become."
- 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
