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Faith Matters: Think you don't measure up? See yourself through God's eyes

Think you don’t measure up? Try to see yourself through God’s eyes. I must admit that there were times in my life where I have felt inferior and inadequate. We all feel that way at times.

Think you don’t measure up? Try to see yourself through God’s eyes.

I must admit that there were times in my life where I have felt inferior and inadequate.

We all feel that way at times. Sometimes we compare ourselves to others, and compared to them, we just don’t measure up.

We see what others accomplish in the work place or at school and somehow our efforts seem to fall short. I remember those sorts of feelings early in life.

When I went to elementary school, I didn’t have the same clothes as other kids. I didn’t seem to have the grades some of them were getting. When it came to sports, I managed, but in my eyes, I wasn’t as good as others. The sense of failure and embarrassment at not being good enough was, at times, devastating to me.

The idea that we are somehow inferior or don’t measurement up to other people’s standards is never what God wants for us.

It is not His intent that we get stuck with this kind of baggage all of our lives. Throughout our lives, a sense of insufficiency is bound to come up now and again.

But God wants us to realize that through Him, we have the power to put those kinds of feelings to rest, once and for all. First of all, you need to learn to understand how God sees you.

Then, when thoughts of inadequacy come, you can stand on a more accurate assessment rather than some faulty view created by you or someone else.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance, that we should spend our lives doing them.”

That word ‘workmanship’ can be translated as the word ‘masterpiece.’ God created you as a masterpiece.

When God made you, He paid attention to detail. Each of us is specifically and uniquely designed by God to accomplish something He has wired us to do.

Many of those things we use to compare ourselves and make us feel discouraged are the very qualities that God wired into you to bring Him glory. Stop trying to be like everyone else. Be the you only you can be!

A second thing is, be honest about your weaknesses too. How many people do you know who spend their whole lives trying to cover up the weaknesses in their lives.

People act tough to protect themselves and cover up the weakness they really feel. People wear makeup to cover up a blemish on their face.

People get into a certain lifestyle in order to cover up the hurt they really feel inside.

As long as we play the ‘cover-up game’ we cannot experience the great things God has for us. When we’re not honest about our weakness, what is happening is that we are operating out of a sense of pride.

As weak as we are, we’d rather put up a front than admit who we really are.

David, in the Old Testament, one day did the right thing when he realized that God saw who he really was deep down. In Psalm 139: 1-3 he says, “Lord, you have examined me and know all about me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up.

You know my thoughts before I think them. You know where I go and where I lie down. You know thoroughly everything I do.”

We can’t hide our weaknesses from God. But when we admit them, then He can add His strength to our weaknesses.

Third, ask God for strength. That’s right, just ask. Second Corinthians 3:5 says, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.”

When you face a situation that’s difficult and you choose to trust God and ask Him for strength, He assumes responsibility for helping you.

And then step out in faith. Allow God to prove His power and your adequacy as you rely on Him. In the movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Jones is in a cave, at the edge of cliff.

On the other side is a room he must enter, but in front of him there is a deep cavern.

As he wrestles with the clues, he realizes what is necessary is that he needs to step out, take a step of faith and trust that a bridge will be there to hold him up.

When he took that step of faith, that is what he found. You need to do the same. Trust God to be there. God delights to prove Himself in our lives.

The key is to look beyond your limitations to the total sufficiency of God. It’s then that we can live confidently.

Feelings of inadequacy hit us all from time to time. We can either accept how God sees us and our circumstances or reject Him and rely on our own feelings. Life is too short to do the latter. Experience God’s best.... You are more than adequate with Him in your life!

This column was provided by Tri-Community Baptist Church in Beiseker.

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