Get Comfortable with Your Own Skin

John 15:8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

So here’s the question. How comfortable are you in your own skin? How comfortable are you with your natural gifts and abilities, your natural weaknesses and limitations and with handing over the sin that God wants to deal with in your life.

You see, once we believe in Jesus, our lives are meant to bear fruit. In other words, the faith we have in Jesus, is meant to change us, flow out of us, and impact the people around us. That’s what Jesus said:

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. (John 15:8)

But the problem is, all too often we compare our fruit with the next person’s fruit, and we feel as though we’re coming up short. I can’t do what he can do! I’m not as clever as she is? How come, they can do that, and yet I can’t? You’ve had those thoughts, right. And our reactions to that comparison can be really, quite negative and unhelpful. You can be a good person, honouring God, following Jesus, and yet ineffective in impacting this world with his love, make sense?

In fact, I know people whose emotions are curled up in a hard ball like an armadillo simply because they think they don’t measure up. It’s like they have a cramp in their soul, wrapped up all tight and hurting. With this sense of, “I’m not worth anything. My life doesn’t count for anything.”

But I believe what He wants you to do is just relax, open yourself up to Him and trust in Him.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)

Part of letting go and letting God in, is humbling yourself. Accepting that the gifts and abilities that He’s given you, different though they may be to those of the people around you, are unique, special and valuable.

Fruit comes inside skin. A banana looks different from an apple, which looks different again from a plum, or peach, or apricot, or mango, or …

So often, we look at the next guy’s skin and come to the conclusion that we’re no good. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Your particular gift, your particular type of fruit, is what He chose in His wisdom and His love to give you.

And His plan, Jesus’ plan, is that you should bear much fruit, for His glory. God cares for you, so cast all your anxiety on Him.

So, get comfortable in your skin. Humble yourself under His mighty hand, for God will – He absolutely will – exalt you in due time. In the meantime, bear much fruit, for this is to the Father’s glory.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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Dig Deeper

• Gifting
• God’s Sovereignty
• Humility
• Wisdom