No Comparison

I love to knit. My family teases me about it all the time. I don't know why but knitting soothes me. It keeps my mind from racing to different thoughts. Some of the thoughts I have are silly ones like,"I wonder what my hair would look like if I didn't color it" or "Is that the dog that's stinky or..." Other thoughts are deep and sometimes troubling. I compare myself to others'accomplishments and wonder "what if?."

Do you ever do that? Compare yourself to others. Do you mentally place yourself side-by-side with those who seem to have accomplished more or have good hair days every day? Well, I do. Am I wasting my time or am I using it wisely. Should I have ....? Would I have....? Could I have....? Will I ever....? Am I strong enough? Brave enough? Pretty enough? Thin enough? Exercise enough? Am I enough?

So I knit. Big deal! It keeps me from thinking too much. Don't worry I'm not down. Actually God has used my knitting to bring me to Himself. I knit to bless others and while I knit I pray for the ones who are going to receive what I am knitting for them. It's a blessed time and I really feel God's presence.

Did you know that God knits? HE DOES!!! REALLY!! Psalm 139:13 says, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." The great Creator God knits. He knitted you and me in our mother's wombs. It goes on to say, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." God made you and I reverently (fearfully) and miraculously (wonderfully) created (made).

We are not some hapharzard creation. Its sort of like when I plan my next knitting project. I look through patterns and choose colors and textures. I think about what the piece is to be used for and who it will bless. The same is true for us. God chooses the exact pattern He will create us by (of course He's the author of that pattern) and He chooses the color and texture we will be. He also thinks about how our lives will bless and affect those we come into contact with.

So when we compare ourselves to others it is like comparing apples to oranges. There is no comparison to be done. We were each planned for and "knitted" by the hand of God. He doesn't want us sizing ourselves up to others.

God does want us to compare one thing though. He wants us to compare Him to other "gods" in our lives.Isaiah 40:18-20 (The Message) says this, "So who even comes close to being like God? To whom or what can you compare him? Some no-god idol? Ridiculous! It's made in a workshop, cast in bronze,Given a thin veneer of gold, and draped with silver filigree. Or, perhaps someone will select a fine wood— olive wood, say—that won't rot, then hire a woodcarver to make a no-god, giving special care to its base so it won't tip over! "


God tells us that there is NO comparison. If there is no comparison, because there is no greater god and this incomparable God created us uniquely, then why do we compare ourselves with others?

The answer is...we shouldn't and we must not. God knit us to be who we are. I want to live with that kind of mindset. I am going to stop thinking that I'm not enough and begin to believe that I am enough because God is enough. What about you?