This past month, I had the opportunity to speak at my squad’s mini-debrief, which is basically a 2-day time of worship, teachings, activities, and free time. My teaching was on what to do if you feel like you do not measure up to the things on this earth, and I wanted to do a post summarizing what I learned through the process of planning this message.
This is a teaching about the journey of my life as an average human finding my worth, and honoring god joyfully along the way
We live in a world that loves to measure- the number of figures you make a year, the digits on a scale, or in my case, your position in a race. As Christians, we know that God does not look at our earthly measurements, but we have to face the reality that we live in a world that does look at our measurements. With that being said, I think that I have grown immensely in this area of my life. It brings up the question- how do I balance knowing God’s Truth while also existing in this culture.
This teaching was inspired by my college essay about xc, and then an instance in Swaziland, which I will touch on later on in one of my points. I want to let y’all in to a part of my life that I can often joke about, because that is my personality, but is something that can be hard and has a lot of underlying hurt. My entire life, I have been pretty bad at many things, to the point where saying that I am average is an overstatement. In kindergarten and 1st grade, I was always in the front row in dance class. The front row is where the beginners start and then they usually make their way back. Multiple years, and I never made my way back from the front row. That means that I was just pain bad at dancing. In 3rd grade, I played a season of soccer, and my favorite part of games was sitting on the bench because I got to talk to people. Needless to say, I sat on the bench a lot because I couldn’t, and still can’t, kick a soccer ball in the correct direction to save my life. In high school, I struggled to learn how to drive a car, while all my friends were effortlessly speeding down the highway. I got my only b in middle school in gym class because I could not throw a football straight, and failed a skills test. I think that y’all get the picture- I am not the best at many things, and it can sometimes be almost comical. But to get to the meat of this subject- running. Although we serve a God who is fair and just, we live in a world that is not fair. I have been running since the 4th grade. I was a pretty decent runner, making the varsity team in high school, but remained quite average. Through hard training, I remained pleased with my performances making it to the regional meet, but watched faster teammates never be satisfied. The interesting thing about high school cross country, is that I was always pleased and joyful, and I have started to reflect on why that was, because from the outside it may have seemed like I should have wanted more.
I am not sure of where y’all are at in this journey, but for me, I have the head knowledge- I am worthy, I am good enough, and my worth was determined by Jesus at the cross. The journey is placing that head knowledge as heart knowledge.
THINGS YOU CAN DO IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU DO NOT MEASURE UP TO THE THINGS ON THIS EARTH
- Don’t take yourself too seriously, and don’t throw yourself a pity party.
- Know Truth about yourself.
If you have what God says about you already implanted in your mind and on your heart, it is a quick defense when you are questioning your identity- because of something someone else said about you, or even what your mind is telling you about yourself. Here are a few scriptures that I felt were good ones to have memorized-
- “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; an looks on the outward appearance, but the lord looks on the heart.’’ -1 samuel 16:7
- ‘’When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.’’ -2 Corinthians 10;12
- ‘‘I am confident God will complete the good work He started in me.’’ -Philippians 1;6
- Surround yourself by people that remind you of Truth.
I am sure that some of y’all have read my blog a few months ago about chickening out in the middle of killing a chicken. It was an instance that brought up a lot of past hurt and reminded me of not feelings good enough. My teammates quickly reminded myself of who I was, and did not let me sit in those feelings for long. Surrounding yourself by friends that will also do this is essential to your journey in knowing your worth. Of course, community is almost a given on the World Race, but in other times in your life, you have the choice of what kind of people you are going to hang around.
- Use your seeming ‘inadequacies’ as a Gospel conversation.
During cross country, I got asked pretty frequently why I liked to run so much, or what motivated me to train the way that I did. Even though I was never the fastest on the team, I remained dedicated to training. This was an easy way to explain to people what motivated me, and where I found value. I was able to tell them that I wasn’t looking to things of this earth, such as a running time, for my worth, and obviously that I just plain liked to run.
- Your life will not become complete if you are number one.
This seems to be said a lot, but is something very true. The enemy can tell us that we are not all that we can be. He can tempt us to ‘be’ and ‘have’ more, by seeking significance apart from God’s provision. The simple truth is that someone will always be faster, smarter, richer, or whatever you are striving for.
- Focus and reflect on why God has you in this place.
Reflecting often happens after a stage in your life, but I think that it is something beneficial to do while you are in the midst of an experience. Ask- why does God have me here? Of course, I did not know every single thing that I would gain from high school cross country, but I also realized pretty quickly that I was not there to be a state champion. Haha, but seriously, cross country brought me growth, reliance on God, amazing friendships, and Sam.
I hope that this post impacts you where you are- whether you are great at something in your life, or you are just straight struggling- know that your placement does not matter. Life is not a competition, it is a journey through our temporary home of earth, alongside God.
