Last week I spoke about sharing our struggles and finding help knowing that we are not alone in our struggles. Well brace yourselves. You might be about to learn more about me in the next couple months than you might have wished to. Or maybe you’ve seen these struggles all along and are thankful I am finally discovering it myself!
Something that I struggle with on a daily basis is turning every situation around to be about me. Self centered much? I hate it. I usually don’t notice myself doing it until mid sentence or even sometimes completely after the fact. Someone will talk to me about their pregnancy and all I do is talk about how that compares to my pregnancies. Someone will tell me about their workout and I just want to tell them what I have been doing. A friend might tell me something their struggling with and in some strange attempt of making them feel better about it I will tell them how that reminds me of some struggle I have had recently. And I don’t mean in the “yeah I struggle with that, too” sense. I mean I completely turn the conversation to be about me. It’s an awful character trait.
Isaiah 35:4 says, “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.”
What does this verse tell me? Our comforts are to be based on God, who He is, and His capabilities. Not on me and my past experiences!
- Who He is- “your God will come…” He is mine. He is my personal Saviour. He will care for His own.
- His capabilities- “with a vengeance, even God with a recompense…” He knows what situations you have been in. “Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.” (Romans 12:19) God will take care of it. He will compensate you. When Job lost all his
family, riches, and health he was given far more in return.
When you are comforting someone how often do your words of comfort turn into a story about yourself? We are human, failures. What comfort can that really bring? Point the fearful in heart to the Lord. Remind them who He is and what He is capable of.
Creating Kilter 