You were made for it!
Nothing is better than opening the fridge, mouth-watering, expecting to grab that box of incredibly plump gorgeous blueberries you just brought home from the store. They were the last-minute additions to our shopping cart as we waited for the cashier to start ringing up the rest of our goodies. My daughter and I stopped at her favorite market to pick up a couple items, and while in line, we remembered we wanted to also grab blueberries. So, while I grabbed a dark chocolate bar beckoning from the endcap, my daughter ran back to the produce aisle to grab a carton of blueberries. A short while later, after everything was properly put away, I stood at the fridge excited for a heaping handful. It might be my favorite quick treat.
Pulling out the clear plastic carton, I open the lid while cupping my hand to gently scoop out a small handful of delectables. I cup. I scoop, and then I realize they're connected. To my surprise, the blueberries are all combined into a bunch. Upon closer examination, it looks like a bunch of blueberry-sized and colored grapes. Yup! Closing the lid and reading the label, I see the identifying mark: Thomcord Grapes (a cross between Thompson and Concord). This handful of sweet treats was not from a bush but a vine!
They were delicious. They were sweet. In fact, they were juicy, small, plump, and of similar color, size, and shape. However, there was one distinctly different factor. They were not blueberries. In that moment of surprise, I was a little disappointed. If I had been expecting grapes, I would have been ecstatic. However, I was expecting blueberries, and at that moment, my tastebuds slammed on the breaks, causing hope to take a nosedive. Despite the juicy and sweet nature, my hopes had fallen short, and the grapes paled in comparison to what I had been longing for.
Comparison is a funny thing. Most often, it is tied to expectation and preference. We compare similarities or dissimilarities between two things because we have a preconceived idea of what we are looking for. We expect they will do more than measure up, so we position ourselves, hoping for them to be better than the expectation we came in with. Comparison isn't really about celebrating the differences. Usually, it is about holding one thing in light of another and then deciding what didn't make the cut.
Some say courage robs you of joy. Yes, that is true. However, I see it do more than that. When comparison is present, there is a defined absence of courage. Scrolling through social media, bouncing from one perceived reality to another, we compare our lives, hopes, dreams, failures, and successes with those of others. Disappointment, frustration, insignificance, or a mindset of lack can occur when we get trapped in comparison. Sometimes knowingly, other times unknowingly. Either way, comparison kills courage.
You are designed for courage. You are designed to carry strength, determination, and some grit, no matter the obstacle. Maybe you don't feel able. After all, life is not always easy. Situations arise; struggles are present. Perception of other’s success and your failure might be the flag waved high. You might not think you have the strength to withstand the giant of comparison that taunts. But friend, when God created you, He created you with the ability to be strong and courageous. You were crafted to stand up as one with strength of heart because the eyes of your faith (and ultimately your confidence) is in God. That God of peace, hope, strength, truth, joy, power, and love breathed life into humanity. His love stomps on fear, and with Love's breath in you, YOU were born for courage!
Friend, don't let others' success, favor, or joy rob you of what you were born for. You were not born to run their race. You were born for something more significant–your own! Their highlight reel is not your watermark. Their success is not your failure; their accomplishments will not steal from your opportunities. You were created for a unique purpose. You were designed to shine and showcase aspects of God's magnificent nature through the lens, experience, and voice that no one else carries. So don't let comparison rob you of joy or kill your courage. Stand up, be strong, and embrace courage. In the middle of your struggles, in the face of the accusers, and looking in the eyes of any doubters, You won't just need courage— you will need to know you were designed for it!
Here is what I have learned through it all: Don’t give up; don’t be impatient;
be entwined as one with the Lord. Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope.
Yes, keep on waiting— for He will never disappoint you! Psalm 27:14 TPT
So be enCouraged friend, you were made not just to survive this life but live courageously as an Overcomer!