Stick Up for Yourself | Crosstraining 3.20.15

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Like any good sibling rivalry, I tormented my little sister when we were growing up. I would try to pin things I did wrong on her, cheat at board games to beat her, call her names, and generally make her miserable. However, even as a kid, if anyone said something bad about my sister or picked on her, it was game on. If they would mess with my sister, they would be messing with me. No one was allowed to treat my little sister that way – except for me of course! This is how we often treat those closest to us like family and friends. Just like how we stand up for those we care for the most, many of us need to learn to stand up for ourselves. When we think of standing up for ourselves, we think about the coworker that constantly pushing things off on us, the family member who criticizes everything we do, or the person from our past that just won’t let some situation from way back when die. What we often forget, though, is just like how we often mistreat those who are closest to that we stick up for, we treat ourselves the same way. We are our own worst critic and biggest enemy. While we may have the resolve to stand up to other people when they attack us, we often fail to realize that we must stand up for ourselves when we put down ourselves. God created you and me, and He cares deeply for us. When we put ourselves down, we are putting God down. Every time we beat ourselves up with insecurity and feelings of inadequacy, we are robbing ourselves of the life God created us to live. Stop beating yourself up over what you are not, but, instead, remember that God has given you everything you need to do exactly what He wants you to do in your life. So, the next time you find you’re beating yourself up for not being good enough, stick up for yourself and remember you are exactly who you’re supposed to be. // TWO-A-DAYS // GO A LITTLE FARTHER WITH YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS // Go through these questions with your spouse, kids, or friend, or you can even journal about the answers to these questions:

1. What was the best part of your day?
2. What was the toughest part of your day?
3. Where did you mess up today?
4. Where did you see God today?

Reflect: Make a list of everything that is good about yourself. What are your strengths? What gifts have God blessed you with? How can you lean into your strengths instead of always focusing on your weaknesses. Pray: Spend a few minutes in prayer today talking to God about your strengths and the gifts He has blessed you with. Ask God to help you utilize those to serve Him instead of being paralyzed by insecurity because of your weaknesses. READ THROUGH THE NEW TESTAMENT:

Today’s Reading: Hebrews 11

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