I Corinthians 12:4-7– Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

I attended a writers’ conference a couple of weeks ago. It was such a phenomenal experience– I learned so much, was so encouraged by the instructors and fellow writers there… I loved it. Every single minute. I must admit, though, that by the end of the first day, I was sitting in a session wondering why I was there. There were so many successful authors– newbies that had beautiful books hot off the press, men and women with newly secured book deals, old-timers that had written and sold over and over again… and I’m a blogger. Just a blogger. By the end of the week, however, I learned that the other people didn’t matter the way I thought they did. Someone will always do things a little better than me (or a lot better than me), but I can do things in a way they can’t quite imitate. Because God’s called me to be a writer. Because He’s the God of diversity, and He designed each of us a little differently.

God doesn’t want us to compare ourselves to others. He doesn’t want us to look at the success of others and see ourselves as failures because we can’t match that standard. He wants us to look at Him and strive to do our best– our best, not someone else’s best– to please Him. He created each of us with a specific talent or skill-set, and He has pronounced it good. We can do this! We can do anything! And we can because He made us for that purpose, and because He is able to help.

Dear Creator, thank you for diversity. Thank you for the wonderful gifts you’ve bestowed upon each of us, each of them different and perfect. Please give us the motivation and the grace to use them for You, without comparing ourselves to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.