February 27, 2017

That Little Voice

Devotion for the Week...

Have you ever had that little voice in your head telling you you're not good enough for something? It's an awful feeling, isn't it? Whether it's telling you that you're not smart enough, not pretty enough, not likeable enough, not whatever enough, that little voice can be debilitating.

The worst of it is, that little voice is usually lying. Even when we are good at something, the little voice, which stems from our own insecurities, will tell us that we're not as good as other people and so we shouldn't try doing anything with our abilities. And we believe the lie because it fits right in with our fears and our own worst feelings about ourselves, and so we listen and let that little voice tell us what to do.

Feeling not talented enough for something we want to do can keep us from fulfilling our dreams, and the plan God has for us. If we're stuck in fear, avoiding doing that thing we most want to do because we're scared of failing, chances are good we're missing out on what God wants us to be doing too. He's the one who gave us those talents and dreams, after all, and everyone's gifts are important to His plan. See 1 Corinthians 12.

Unfortunately, the little voice often doesn't stop at telling us we aren't good enough to do or be something. Often that voice will continue right on and tell us we aren't good enough, period. As if our worth were tied to our abilities.

That little voice will tell us we aren't as valuable as other people. Maybe it's because the other person is more talented than we are, or they have talents that look more valuable somehow. It doesn't really matter how we think the other person is better than we are because that feeling is a lie. The truth is our worth does not come from what we can do.
Weekly devotions on Christian living | DevotedQuilter.blogspot.com

Our worth comes from the fact that we are each made by God, created in His image. "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27).

Psalm 139:13, 14 says, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

We have each been created by God, fearfully and wonderfully made as only He could do. In His eyes, we are worth the sacrifice of Jesus, so we are valuable indeed!

If our worth has nothing to do with our abilities, what are we to do with that little voice that tells us we aren't good enough? We talk back to it, of course!

Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." That first one...whatever is true. We know that our worth comes from God, not from what we can do, so when that little voice pipes up to tell us we're not good enough, we can say "That's not true. I refuse to think that way." Then deliberately choose to counter the lie with the truth.

Obviously, this won't be the sort of thing that's done once and then never again. The voice will come back, telling us that we are 'less than' in some way, but we have to constantly remind ourselves that the voice in our head is wrong and then speak the truth.

This is not to say that we are all equally talented at all the things. An honest evaluation of our abilities will show that we are good at some things and not so good at others. My husband plays piano beautifully and sings well too, though he would disagree on the singing part. My son drums and plays guitar and even writes music. Me? Well, I can sing along with someone else, just don't listen too closely 😉 As much as I love music, I am not good at it. That doesn't change my worth, though. It just means I probably shouldn't try to join a band!

Do you struggle with believing in your abilities? Or has that little voice convinced you that you are less valuable than someone else because they are more talented than you are? Whatever the little voice in your head is telling you, know that God loves you and has given you abilities to use to work for Him. To Him you are precious, just as you are.

1 comment:

  1. This post was a blessing to me today. I shared a link with my family's weight loss group.

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