Devotionals

I don’t know whether I can blame it on being the oldest child in my family, but growing up, I always had things to say. Somehow I thought that the extra few years of experience I had on my siblings meant my ideas were inherently better than theirs. As funny as it sounds to write, I can still resort to this way of thinking more than I want to admit. So much of it stems from an insecurity that if I’m not understood or always right, then I don’t matter. Carrying that misplaced desire for validation into previous conversations meant I was never truly looking to understand others but instead making sure I got my idea, story, or opinion, across. To truly be a friend who listens and seeks to understand, I first have to recognize where my significance and worth comes from. It’s not in what others think of me. It’s not in how right or smart I am. Instead, it’s firmly in Him who made me and the love He has for me. Lord, please help me remember where my worth comes from. Please help me selflessly love those around me by listening and seeking to understand others, not proving a point or getting the final word.