Please welcome Christina Rich to my blog this week. Christina is sharing a something we've all struggled with in our life. I know you'll enjoy hearing about her journey. Be sure to leave a comment to be entered to win The Guardian's Promise and The Warrior's Vow.
Let’s face it; the home front is one of the toughest battlefields when it comes to warring against the principalities of the air. I’m sure you’ve experienced this first hand. However, let me tell you a little bit about what I’ve learned from my own personal home front battles.
You may be surprised to find out that 99% of the time warring within my own household occurred because of my own insecurities. I could live out the ‘perfect’
Christian life Monday through Saturday, but come Sunday morning it never failed, my skin crawled with irritation and I was ready to draw blood, mainly my husband’s. It seems so silly now, but reflecting back I can see that the root problem of my insecurities was that nasty little bug called comparison.
When Sunday morning came around and I knew my outfit would lack in comparison to all the Proverbs 31 women, I attacked. When my children behaved in a way not fitting the manner of 1 Timothy 3:12, I attacked. When I witnessed the pastor’s wife carrying herself with grace, manage her children with efficiency, support her husband befitting a pastor’s wife, sew, sing, play piano, and bake bread from scratch… I attacked.
How could I not compare? I was raised to compare, as we all were. Our entire culture thrives on comparing. Who is taller, skinnier, healthier, prettier, stronger, the fastest runner, the best role model, the greatest musician? Comparison is so deeply integrated into our beings that mothers compare birth experiences and fathers compare their children’s abilities to other children.
Of course, comparison is nothing new. Why, just look at Cain and Abel. I used
to have a problem with this particular scenario in the Bible. Why would God favor one brother over the other, inciting anger? But as I became more intimate with God and discovered more about His character I realized He did not compare Cain’s offering to his brother Abel’s and find it lacking, rather He recognized and judged Cain’s heart posture, which didn’t line up with the righteousness of God. It was Cain’s attitude, much like mine when I compared myself to other women, that caused Cain to become angry. Cain could have easily repented of his unrighteousness and brought forth a pleasing offering with a proper heart posture, one of worship, instead he acted on his anger and spilled his brother’s blood.
Subconsciously, until we recognize it, we are always comparing and trying to measure up to a standard. Unfortunately, too often we find the bar always raised. I mean, seriously, if you recall my former pastor’s wife, how could God create her to be this perfect Proverbs 31 woman and give me nothing? How could her measuring cup overflow and mine have barely a drop? The bar she set was so far above my head that standing on top of the Empire State Building wouldn’t help me.
Obviously, at least in my mind, God favored her and I was the ugly step-child. It was kind of like Cain and Abel.
Fortunately, I’ve matured spiritually by leaps and bounds since those first days of my walk with Jesus, and I’ve come to realize that there are no comparisons to be made. It’s all about our personal heart posture with the Lord. And I do mean personal, for God does not show favoritism. (Romans 2:11) God’s favor and goodness is available to each and every one of us, He does not determine the inflow and the outflow. We do. My cup overflows, and just as my former pastor’s wife mentored, encouraged, and inspired me to walk a deeper walk with my heavenly Father, so is it my wish to do the same for you.
If you are struggling with insecurities set your heart before the Lord and ask Him to show you the root cause. Ask Him to show you where you compare and then ask Him to show you how He sees you.
A Kingdom in Jeopardy
An evil queen and her royal guards will stop at nothing to find—and kill—the rightful heir to the
throne of Judah. When their pursuit leads them to Mira’s village, only her father’s bond servant, Ari, a man shrouded in secrets, can keep Mira safe.
Abandoning his life as a temple guard and becoming an indentured servant was the only way Ari could protect young Joash, the true King of Judah, from Queen Athaliah. But his sacred duty prevents him from confessing his feelings for his master’s daughter. With the future of their nation on the line, Ari and Mira will risk everything to save their people.
Swept away from her home and into the desert, Abigail is as much a prisoner as she is a princess. A
ruthlessly ambitious captain of the palace guard intends to force her into marriage and rule Judah through her. Yet the badly beaten soldier Abigail rescues offers another choice—if she dares trust him.
She is royalty, yet Jesse is surprised by the gentle compassion Abigail shows him as he heals. In return, he will help her escape to Jerusalem, protecting her life with his own. But Abigail’s rank and Jesse’s deadly past makes any future impossible, unless forgiveness forged by love can triumph over all.
More about Christina:
Christina Rich is a wife and mother of four. She is romance author published with Love Inspired Historicals. The Guardian’s Promise and The Warrior’s Vow, set in ancient Judah, are currently available from Amazon.com and Harlequin.com.