Have you ever felt inferior or self-pitying, felt that everyone was judging you, but in fact none of it was real. As human beings we sometimes have inferiority complex and insecurities that come in and make us feel too small and what does the Bible have to say about this? Well, complexes imprison us and everything that imprisons us is not good, for we have been called to freedom in Christ.
Many people feel this way because they have lived in hostile environments, suffered bullying or been criticized too much, and as a result, they end up absorbing the external problems, which makes everything more complicated. But today I want to bring two biblical examples about inferiority and self-compassion. Through the stories of Gideon and the prophet Elijah, we will better understand what the word of God has to tell us about these things.
Gideon and inferiority
The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
Judges 6:11-16
In Judges 6:11-16 we see Gideon in a time of conflict amidst his people who were being massacred by their enemies. But inside Gideon there was a feeling of smallness that led him to hide (verse 11) and think that his family was inferior to others (verse 15). In light of this, God raised Gideon’s esteem by calling him a “brave man” (verse 12) and strong (verse 14).
Have you ever felt like Gideon, as if you were not capable or sufficient in something, it’s not nice, is it? The inferiority complex takes away our ability to believe in what we are capable of and more than that, it blinds us to what God is capable of, because even if you don’t feel up to it, if the Lord has called you, he will enable you. If he has allowed you to be in a certain position or place, he has a purpose in it.
You are the son or daughter of the King of Kings, owner of all wisdom and knowledge, and this is also no reason to boast, because the Prince of princes, Jesus Christ, was the greatest example of humility that mankind has ever seen, and as it is written in Luke 14:11: everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
To have humility and to feel inferior are different things, remember this, because humility is characterized by a strong acceptance of oneself and of others as beings with the same value, thus being neither superior nor inferior. So don’t believe that you are worthless, because you were bought at a high price, by the blood of Jesus.
Elijah and self-compassion
There he went into a cave and spent the night. The Lord Appears to Elijah And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
1 Kings 19:9-10
Elijah was one of the prophets most used by God. Yet he fled from Jezebel when they threatened him with death and hid in a cave. It was there in the cave that God twice asked “what are you doing here Elijah?” (I Kings 19:9,10 and 13,14) and he vented to the Lord saying he was alone because all the other prophets had already been killed. In the prophet’s speech we saw self-pity and God’s response addressed his self-pity by challenging him to come out of the cave and continue his ministry by anointing kings and prophets (I Kings 19.16-19).
Self-pity is a very common thing that happens sometimes right after someone feels inferior and indicates feeling sorry for himself. When the person thinks that he is alone, then he begins to pity himself in order to make up for his “lack of support”. Unfortunately, this is an empty feeling that only wastes time. For as it is written in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of fortitude, and of love, and of moderation.
Even if all your friends and family move away, even if everything seems confusing, you still have someone on your side that you can always talk to, so instead of self-pity, remember that you have the best friend and Father in the world! You are not a victim of everything. Take responsibility and fight to change the situation.
Conclusion
Maybe you are living in a delicate moment, where warnings may seem a little harsher than they are, but I still think it is a valid question: Do you want to be a caterpillar that lives to crawl, or do you want to be a butterfly that will fly and experience the unimaginable? Well, for this transformation to take place you have to prepare for the future, to build a cocoon, and the first step is to open your heart before God and listen carefully to His instructions. Even if everyone has let you down, there is someone who will never let you down and that is Jesus.
God bless you!
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