This is how we know that we belong to the truth and
 how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:
 If our hearts condemn us,
 we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
I John 3:19-20

 

Do you ever feel less?

Do you ever feel that you are not enough?

Lots of people, and lots of things, can make us feel unworthy: a judgmental friend, the number on the bathroom scale, a cluttered kitchen counter.

But sometimes it’s our very own heart that is the culprit. Our emotions can rise up to betray and condemn us.

Enticed into playing the dangerous comparison game, we indulge in some self-hate thought life that sounds something like:

• She’s thinner than me.
• Her house is newer and nicer and cleaner than mine.
• She’s a much better cook than I am.
• Why can’t I get that much accomplished?
• I wish I had just a fraction of her creativity.
• She’s the Homeschool Queen, and I don’t even qualify as a lady in waiting.

The evil one whispers the lies, and we listen. The conversation in our head gets buried in our heart.

Judgment. Condemnation. Failure. We label ourselves as lacking, unworthy, and inadequate and take on these terms as our identity.

The only way to stop the lie is to speak the truth. Lies are told in the dark, but the truth is proclaimed in the light. The light chases away the darkness.

If you know Jesus, you “belong to the truth.” He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Only in His presence can our hearts be truly at rest.

A horizontal focus on others often brings on guilt, insecurity, and feelings of failure.

A vertical focus on Jesus acknowledges that I am not enough—no one can be—but in Him, I am made enough. In Christ alone, I am equipped and empowered for the high call of motherhood and the challenging call to home education.

Apart from Him, I am nothing. In Him, I can do everything He assigns.

A horizontal focus on others often brings on guilt, insecurity, and feelings of failure. A vertical focus on Jesus acknowledges that I am not enough—no one can be—but in Him, I am made enough. Click To Tweet

God is greater than my mocking, condemning heart that wants to betray me.

God is greater than my inadequacies and insecurities.

He is greater than my emotions. Because I am His, I am not derailed by my own heart.

The eyes of my heart can yet again shift upward to gaze upon Jesus. In Him alone, I find peace. My heart is set at rest only because it is set on Him.