Have you ever had a situation where there was something you badly desired and longed for? Something you prayed and waited and prayed more for? But no matter how long you prayed and longed for this thing, it didn’t happen? Instead, as you were waiting and praying, did what you longed for happen for people around you?
What is the feeling that you were inclined to feel next? Was it joy for the person? I would venture to say you are very strong in the Lord if it was!
For the majority of people, they don’t feel joy watching others get what they longed and prayed for. They feel pain, and fear. If you are one of those people, I have 4 Bible Verses to Kill Comparison & Jealousy today.
The Comparison & Jealousy Link
I used to think that I didn’t have a problem with envy until I realized that I have had problems with comparison, and in a way, comparison and envy are kind of the same thing.
The strange thing is that I thought I had overcome my comparison problem until one day I realized that some old wounds in my life had reopened. It’s funny how certain things can trigger us, opening a Pandora’s box of pain.
For me, out of that Pandora’s box came comparison dressed differently than it had been before, and before I knew it, I was struggling with my old enemy, comparison, again.
I have come to the realization that comparison, envy, and jealousy are aching pains that very closely connected and too often walk hand in hand.
When comparison starts to happen, a person either feels like they are coming out on top or they feel like they are coming out on the bottom. If they feel like they’re coming out behind or on the bottom, then the trap of jealousy and envy becomes a real temptation. Let’s face it: we would never feel jealousy or envy if we had not first compared ourselves with somebody else or something else.
Jealousy is a Diversion
If you struggle with jealousy, let me tell you something that I discovered some years ago.
Jealousy is a diversion. It’s a trap the devil uses to keep us away from God, healing, and trusting the Lord.
Jealousy often happens when we compare and see something we desire or have worked for going to somebody else, and instead of looking to the Lord and trusting Him, we become insecure. Worried that maybe it means God doesn’t love us as much.
Lately I’ve been going through a book called Killing Comparison by Nona Jones. I highly, HIGHLY recommend it. FIND IT HERE. She has a sample of the book in a Bible study plan on the YouVersion App. FIND IT HERE.
One of the things that I loved that Nona pointed out is that comparison (and I would add that often jealousy, too) stems from insecurity, and the insecurity usually comes from words that were spoken over us at some point in time.
She talked about how there is power in words, and if we have had horrible things said to us, insults, and been chronically criticized (especially as a child or youth), these words can have a way of following us into our adulthood and through our life without us even realizing it.
The result is seeds for comparison (and I believe for some jealousy too) begin to grow.
So one of the things that Nona encourages people struggling with comparison (and that I would add to it to say people struggling with jealousy as well) is to go back. If we are insecure about something, why? When did it start? Were there words spoken to you in your life that started this?
If so, what were those words?
If you cannot remember, then really think about the negative words you are telling yourself and speaking to yourself.
It’s important to recognize the negative lies we replay in our minds so that we can replace them with what the Bible says and begin to heal and grow.
4 Bible Verses to Kill Comparison & Jealousy
Since comparison and jealousy typically happen when you are worried that God has forgotten us and we become insecure in His love for us, and since it’s common in people who somewhere along the path of life developed a very critical inner voice that is lying to them and is abusing them, let’s look at some truths we can replace those lies with!
Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I sanctified you; and I ordained you a prophet to the nations”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Romans 8:39 “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”
Psalms 139:13-16
“For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.”
Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
The last one is my favorite! Just think about how before the devil even saw us coming, before he used whoever he did to say whatever it was to us or harm us, God knew us, and he loved us, and loves us still!
So if you struggle with feelings of comparison or jealousy or envy, here’s what I want you to do. I want you to write these verses that I gave you today on a post-it or paper and put them where you will see them daily.
The key to overcoming the comparison trap and jealousy trap is in believing these verses and daily trusting that the LORD loves you and knows what is best for you.
Every time you’re tempted to compare and you catch yourself feeling jealousy or comparing yourself to someone you think appears to be more blessed, read those verses. I pray 4 Bible Verses to Kill Comparison & Jealousy helps you begin to heal and overcome the pain and trap of comparison and jealousy today, but remember, the path to healing is not linear and takes time and practice!
Read Next How I Quit Comparing and Started Loving Life.
