Who Do You Compare Yourself To?

Do you find that you compare yourself to others? Thinking others are more "gifted" than you are, or others are more "talented" than you are? Face it, we all do that from time to time.
Let me tell you a little tidbit, that is totally wrong and feeds negative garbage into our minds.
Whoa you say, those are harsh words. Yes they are. I am so tired of hearing folks say they cannot be used by God like the other person. Let me tell you why I am a fanatic about that.
You have read in my previous blogs about how I used to do different ministries within the Church.  Drama being one. When my illness and physical disability became worse I had to stop doing those things I loved to do. I could no longer be active within the Body the way I had been. It literally tore me apart inside. I had finally found my niche within the Church. God was using me to spread His Gospel and to encourage others. Now what?
That's when the negative creeps in. I cannot do anything else, I cannot sing, I cannot do what this one does, or everyone else is better than me when it comes to ministry.
Thankfully I read the Word of God everyday and spend time with Him everyday. It was through that and the encouragement from my husband that I quickly realized that is garbage thinking. So instead of dwelling on the negative, dive into the positive, ask God what He would have you do. And that is what I did.
He gave me the task of writing this blog.  I will not go into that totally. If you like you can go back to an earlier blog and read that story. Once God placed that in my heart, I could hardly wait to get a hold of a dear sister who could get me started.
But remember the title of this blog, I had to make sure I did not try to copy the patterns of other bloggers. I needed to do this the way God wanted me to.  And share only what God wants me to share. I had to make sure I was not comparing myself to others. If I had, I would end up back into that stinking thinking.
As you know, I have kept faithful to what God has asked of me. Now let's look at another perspective.
Our church is very involved in missions, particularly in Kenya. So many of my friends travel to Kenya once or twice a year. Some that do not know my situation that well have asked why I do not get involved. That began to eat at me. My husband and I do sponsor a child in Kenya. But I know some wonder why we do not do more.  First of all, my health, as in earlier blogs I explain some of my health issues. Those alone prevent me from traveling overseas, and prevent my husband as well. Once again that old negative voice starts to creep in, why are you not doing more?
I began to diligently seek God about that. Then one day my answer came so very clearly. I had posted a blog. Within one day I received over 25 views from 1 particular country. This was a country I hadn't noticed before on the list. Then the light came on! I am involved in missions. I am involved in missions overseas. This little blog I write has reached well over 20 countries.  Countries that I would never be able to visit in the natural. Countries that I have no direct tie or link to. WOW! Thank You God. He has taken my faithfulness to something He had asked me to do and blessed it beyond my comprehension.
You see it isn't up to us.  It doesn't matter what your gifting is, or what your talents are. What matters is obeying God. And we must stop comparing ourselves to others. This is between you and God. God has asked you to do something for Him, and you alone. Was I scared, of course I was. I did not consider myself a writer, or a blogger. But God did. So I had to trust He was going to give me the words to write and the courage to do so.
So in closing, please do not compare yourself to others. We are all valuable to God. He made you to be who you are, not who someone else is. Be encouraged, God made you, He loves you, and He will use you.
2 Corinthians 10:12 ESV
 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.