3:225 – Feeling Less Than

#faithbites #faithjourney less

Setting

Today, I woke up early with a near panic attack. No trigger, no warning, just anxiety gone crazy. Took some meds and still wasn’t feeling like myself. I was less than normal, less than I wanted to be. Went through the day like that, still living life, being friendly, getting things done but just less than I want to be. 

We often feel less than. You may wonder less than what. Here are a few words that I’ve come up with less than: normal, my neighbors, expectations, others, myself, I want to be. 

We may feel that we are less than we want to be, but we are never less in God’s eyes. 

Scripture

• Zephaniah 3:17 – The Lord your God is with you,
      the Mighty Warrior who saves.
  He will take great delight in you;
      in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
      but will rejoice over you with singing.
• Romans 8:37-39 – No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Reflection

God is with us, in us, and around us. He created us in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-14). Our father will not leave us no matter what we do. It doesn’t matter if we are alive or dead, sin, any powers, angels, demons, nothing in all creation can separate us from Jesus. 

Those words are powerful. No matter how less than whatever you feel, you are not. You are loved, respected, and a cherished child of God. You can be forgiven of all your sins. There is a seat at the table with sinners and the saints made especially for you.

So yes, I’m feeling less than I want to be right now. As I write this my youngest was throwing a fit trying to get attention and I responded in a less than ideal way. I will ask for forgiveness and know that I am still loved.

Challenge

Tell yourself that you are greater than you think. Remind yourself that God made you for a specific purpose and nothing you can do will separate you from that family. Challenge yourself to keep your identity in Christ first and foremost no matter what your daily life brings.

Prayer

Father God, we often compare ourselves to the ideals we see in this world or the ideals that we think you want us to be. Remind us that you love us no matter what. You gave up your only Son for us to be with you. We are never apart from you. We may feel less than but that is the world and sin talking. Lift us up with your righteous hand and help us to be at peace, knowing we are loved by you. In your name, Amen.