May 30, 2022
What’s Wrong with Me?
Kelly Balarie
Today’s Truth
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV).
Friend to Friend
Have you ever started a recipe only to find you’re missing that one ingredient?
Perhaps, you begin, convinced that you have everything you need. Then you follow the recipe, adding the proper ingredients. Half-way through the process, you open the refrigerator to get an egg, when you realize you are “eggless!” Not an egg to be had!
You’re missing an important ingredient, and you’re stuck. The cooking stops!
Some of us feel this same frustration in the recipe called “us.” We feel like we’re missing something–like God left something out of the recipe. Maybe He was all out of one particular ingredient or another on the day He fashioned us in our mother’s womb.
For a long time, I felt like I was missing the right personality. While others were funny and lighthearted, I was serious and contemplative. I remember a prayer partner looking at me and saying, “Kelly, you’re so intense.”
Intense? That hurt my feelings.
Who likes intense people? It’s the funny and frilly people we all love, not the intense and intentional types. They come off too serious, strong, and I dare say, forceful.
People don’t like that, I thought. Therefore, they don’t like me.
But that wasn’t true. Intense is how God made me! The lie that intense was bad made me believe people would not love me, much less like me. I also falsely believed that if God had put more of the “funny ingredient” in the mix when He made me, then I would be a better person, have more friends, and be more effective in ministry.
But that’s not what Scripture tells us. Peter wrote, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV). If He didn’t put “it” in us, then we don’t need “it” to do what He’s fashioned us to do.
That verse is a balm to my heart. He created my personality just as it should be. God doesn’t make mistakes or leave out ingredients. I am exactly who and how God made me to be. That doesn’t mean that I don’t need to use wisdom when operating in my gifts that could come across as harsh, but I don’t have to dislike myself because of the way I’m wired.
What a relief!
You don’t need to feel like you’re missing a key ingredient in the recipe called “you.” God made you and me with unique personalities, distinctive giftings, and individual talents. He didn’t leave anything out of the mix when He created you. You are just right!
Let’s Pray
Father, I thank You that I have all I need for godliness and life, in Christ Jesus. I am loved. I am wanted. I am made just how you want me to be. Father, I thank You. You have good plans for me. You know what you are doing with my life. I trust You with how You created me. I love You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
What do you have a hard time accepting about yourself? What might it look like for you to shed the belief that you are not enough? How can you trust God, in scary moments, when you feel – not enough?
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© 2022 by Kelly Balarie. All rights reserved.
Originally published Monday, 30 May 2022.
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