“And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends.” Job 42.10
Have you ever found yourself feeling jealous of a friend’s possessions or talents? I have – actually more often than I care to admit.
The first time I realized I was being envious of a sister I spent several days agonizing over what I saw as her greater giftedness. She seemed to be so much more talented than I was and I finally had to admit I was just plain jealous. When I finally took my sinful self to the Lord, His answer, as usual, was simple – pray for her. Thank Him for the blessings, gifts, and talents He has given her.
Over the years the Lord has worked it into my heart to quickly respond to each twinge of jealously by thanking Him for what He has given others.
Recently I became part of a very talented group of people. My feelings of envy seemed to be raised to a new level. This time I not only envied them, but I felt worthless as I compared what I considered my paltry gifts to theirs. Being grateful for their gifts helped but somehow it wasn’t enough.
One morning during my quiet time I felt the Lord reminding me that in comparing myself to them I either had to elevate myself so I looked better then them or put them down so they didn’t look so good. This is a topic I’ve taught my children many times and now it was coming back to haunt me. What was the solution? This time I felt the Lord telling me to do all I could to help the others succeed.
I simply had to get my eyes off myself and onto others. As I set about doing what I could to encourage and promote others in the group an amazing thing happened – they became my friends instead of my competitors.
Thank you, Lord, for revealing my selfishness to me and turning my gaze first upon you, and then upon others.
Finding Joy in the Journey,
Phyllis
Phyllis Sather
Proclaiming God’s Faithfulness at:
http://www.Phyllis-Sather.com
© 2007 Phyllis Sather
Contact me: Phyllis@Phyllis-Sather.com
Thank you for sharing this! I have been struggling with jealousy lately-well for 20 years…just realised recently thats what it is! Good thoughts, pray for the ones your jealous of, and try to serve them…good. Hard, but good.
Hi, Phyllis-
It’s such a wonderful thing to experience what you’ve mentioned– “As I set about doing what I could to encourage and promote others in the group an amazing thing happened – they became my friends instead of my competitors.”
Isn’t it beautiful that the Lord has provided such a way to ‘encourage one another and build each other up’? We each have our place in the Body, and it’s a joy to find it, and to share from our abundance. When we are thankful for others, we receive the peace and joy the Lord wants for us.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts– they’re an encouragement!
Blessings,
Janice
Phyllis,
I praise God for your humble spirit and willingness to share your struggles with envy–and so grateful for your willingness to share the Lord’s Word to you on envy. This is something I also struggle with and battle inadequacy, but we know it isn’t from the Lord, don’t we?
You do a beautiful job of encouraging me and I find your words to be sweet and precious to me.
Thank you, Phyllis,
Love Deanne
Thanks for your honesty Phyliss. All too often I lose sight of the bigger picture and am just about pleasing myself. Thanks.
All to often it is jealousy that destroys the unity in groups of working people; be that in the church or in society. Your willingness to share your feelings of envy and worthlessness shows your desire to be transparent. If we never had any negative aspects or sins in our lives, we would not need the Saviour. God bless you, my sister.
Wow Phyllis, this was so beautiful. I pray that our Lord Bless you beyond measure for allowing Him to use you in such an awesome way. I am learning that to serve the Lord you really have to die to self. This is such a perfect example of that. I am so proud of you for perservearing in something that must have been so painful at first. You are awesome and I am so proud of you.