Day 4: Psalms of Praise & Thanksgiving

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (Psalm 139:14 NIV)
 
I have to tell you, when I read this Scripture, of course I believe it, but honestly, I don't always feel all that wonderfully made. Oh, I appreciate the miraculous intricacies of my human body and the impenetrable complexities of my human mind—downgraded though it seems sometimes by motherhood and its accompanying exhaustion. 

But as for my physical appearance, other women seem so much more wonderfully made than I am. And here is where I need to take firm hold of a foundational truth: comparison is not only the thief of joy; it is also the thief of gratitude and peace. 

Do you see how connected these are? When we compare ourselves to others, it distracts us from being thankful for who we are. And since gratitude activates peace, comparison steals that, too. And finally, depleted of both gratitude and peace, we find our joy stolen.

The security system that can prevent the comparison thief from breaking into our minds and hearts to steal what is ours as creations of the Master Designer is, of course, more time looking at God and less time looking at others. Everyone is fighting some sort of battle. My job is to look at the victories God has given me, to be thankful for them, and then to experience the peace and joy that come from knowing who and Whose I truly am.

-Elizabeth

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