Have you ever had those days when you were feeling good about yourself and everything was on point? Your hair, make-up, outfit… and then you see “her”. And suddenly your good feeling is gone. Just like that. You took one look at another person to measure your worth and value and you came up short. It’s not just the outward appearance that we measure, but also the car we drive or the home in which we live. We see what others have or do and suddenly become saddened in our heart and overwhelmed with the sense that we are lacking in some way. We feel inferior. We feel lazy. We feel bland. We forget “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

Insecurity can take hold and wreak havoc in your mind and heart. We begin to look around and see all the ways others are different and we begin to stir up jealousy and discontentment in our heart. We begin to entertain thoughts of changing our outward appearance, our home, our car, our career, the way or place we school our kids. At a minimum, we want to match others; but ultimately, we want to out-do them. Our culture is a perfect breeding ground for encouraging this mindset. Our culture talks a big game of loving self and promoting self and making us feel better about our existence. When we take that bait, we forget God’s perspective: “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).

Maybe our insecurities are hidden a little more and go beyond the surface. Have you ever been jealous of someone else’s testimony? Have you ever noticed someone else’s gifts or talents and wished they were your own? Do you take notice of the way a person speaks about the Lord or a passage of Scripture and wish you had the knowledge and insight they shared? Do you measure your blessings by the blessings others receive and feel like somehow God has cheated you? Or maybe you see someone received an answer to their prayer and you are still waiting.

So it begins. A downward spiral of your thoughts as you stir up jealousy within your heart and feed the insecure feelings inside you. You focus on the fact that someone seemed to receive a billboard sign of God’s guidance and instruction, while you sit and wait for the slightest whisper of wisdom from the Lord. You begin to measure your walk with the Lord by the walk of others. You begin to see them as more holy because their spiritual routine appears more organized than yours. You focus on their quiet time that starts at 5am and lasts for 3 hours, while you barely scrape through the day finding 5 minutes to push out a prayer – in the car!

Suddenly, we find our self exactly where the enemy wants us. We are primed for an attack. The enemy knows your insecurities – he is familiar with them all – and he aims with precision, right for your heart. He is cunning. He tries to slip in without notice. That is why we are warned: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

The enemy wants to take hold of your mind and make you forget who you are in Christ. The enemy wants to distract you with comparison and insecurity so that you will not continue the work the Lord has for you. The enemy seeks to divert your time and thoughts so you will not walk in the way of truth and life. The enemy knows that you are special, and therefore you are a threat to his schemes.

Remember what your Creator says about you. You are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14).

God created you for a purpose. He carefully designed you. There is not another like you. You are unique and people need you. This lost world does not need a replicate of the person you envy. This lost world needs the person God created you to be. Speak God’s truths into your life. Replace the lies in your mind with the truth of God’s Word and remember what He says about you. “Be anxious for nothing”, as Philippians 4:6 tells us. And let “the peace of God… guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Do not let the comparison trap bog you down.

When your mind begins to wander to lesser things, focus instead on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

The enemy uses insecurity to divide us because he knows we are stronger together. Instead of allowing the enemy to use you as a tool of division, resist him and take a step toward unity. One way to do this is to serve others. Serving others requires you to take the focus off yourself. The root of insecurity is pride. Put off the love of self and put on selflessness. When you have your chin to your chest, you cannot see the needs of other people. You notice their pretty pink toenails, but you failed to see the load they are carrying.

Squash your pride by looking up and out. Choose to walk in love and good works toward your neighbor, pursuing peace and extending grace. It takes a humble heart to help someone. Humble your heart daily by remembering the humble act of our Savior Jesus Christ when He willingly chose to lay down His life for you – because of His love for sinners. John 15:12-13, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”