Month: September 2026

And when those came who were hired first, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. — Matthew 20:10 (NKJV)

Have you ever been grateful for what you have – until you compared it with what someone else has?

Jesus tells the story of workers hired at different times throughout the day. Some worked from early morning, while others were hired at the eleventh hour, and worked for only one hour. At the end of the day, they all received the same wage.

The workers who had laboured all day were upset. They had worked longer under the hot sun and yet received the same wage as those who had worked only one hour.

The landowner reminded them that they had received exactly what they had agreed to receive.

Comparison Changes How We See What We Have

The early workers knew what they had agreed to received – a denarius was agreed upon. But when they saw the latecomers receiving the same amount, suddenly they felt they should be getting more!

This happens to us more often than we realize – we are quite happy with our home, or work or children, until we compare them with someone else’s better home, work, or children.

Someone Else’s Blessing Doesn’t Diminish Ours

The landowner reminded the early workers that they received what he had promised them. The latecomers’ blessing didn’t reduce their portion.

Comparison Can Dim the Light God Has Given Us

Comparison doesn’t only make us dissatisfied. It can cause us to stop seeing the value of what God has placed in us.

We look at someone else’s gifts and think ours aren’t good enough. We see someone else’s accomplishments and feel that we’ve fallen behind. We compare our chapter with someone else’s highlight reel and start believing that our own story isn’t worth much.

But God never asked us to shine with someone else’s light. He gave each of us our own gifts, experiences, and story. You don’t have to shine brighter than someone else. You simply need to shine with the light God has given you.

My Invitation

This is my invitation to you today: look at your own portion and be truly grateful. Resist the temptation to compare yourself with others, because God has a unique plan for each of us.

Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. — Matthew 5:15 (NKJV)

The lamp doesn’t shine for itself. It shines for others. God calls me to shine my light for my family, friends and community. My light is not meant to be hidden under the basket. It is meant to shine so that others may see God through my life.

Your Light is not Just For You

A lamp doesn’t benefit anyone when it is hidden. In the same way, our gifts, wisdom, and experiences aren’t meant to be kept to ourselves. What God has placed in us can become a source of encouragement, hope, and inspiration for someone else. He wants us to shine our light for others – to share our gifts, wisdom, and experiences to help others.

Someone May Need the Light You Carry

We often underestimate what we have because it feels ordinary to us. Our experience may be exactly what someone needs to hear. Our testimony may give hope to someone struggling. Our wisdom may save someone from a mistake we have already made.

We don’t always know who needs our light. That’s why we shouldn’t decide for God that what we have isn’t valuable enough to share. He has His own purposes for the light we shine.

You May Never Know Who Your Light Reaches

We often want to see the results of what we do. We want to know that our encouragement made a difference, that our story helped someone, or that our small act of kindness mattered.

But sometimes, we may never know. A conversation that seemed ordinary to us may have given someone hope. A word of encouragement may have kept someone going. Something we shared from our own experience may have helped someone make a different decision. We don’t always get to see where our light reaches.

Our responsibility isn’t to measure the impact. It’s to faithfully put the lamp where God wants it to be.

My Invitation

This is my invitation to you today: let your light shine for others. God didn’t give us light simply so that we could see – He gave us light so that others could see too.

My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness – 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV)

Have you ever looked at the cracks in your life and wished they weren’t there? Perhaps they are failures you regret, weaknesses you wish you could overcome, or disappointments you didn’t expect. We rather hide these cracks. We tell ourselves: “if only I were stronger, or more confident, or better qualified”. There are shameful parts of our pasts that we would rather erase.

We All Have Cracks

None of us goes through life without weaknesses. Some are obvious, and others are hidden. To some degree, we all struggle with insecurity, fear, impatience, inadequacy, shame, or guilt. We all carry wounds from our past.

When God calls us, our response is usually: “I’m not good enough”, or “I’m not qualified”. Sometimes, we even ask God to call someone who is better suited.

What we don’t realise is that God calls us in our weakness so that we learn to depend on Him, rather than on our strength. It is an invitation to rely on God’s grace.

God Uses Our Weakness for His Purpose

We see so many stories in the Bible of God using people we might consider inadequate. Moses didn’t consider himself an eloquent speaker. Gideon saw himself as the least important person in his family, Paul had persecuted the church, yet God transformed him into a powerful messenger of the Gospel.

Sometimes, God allows us to come to the end of our strength so that we learn to rely on His strength – His alone.

Our limitations can teach us dependence on God. Our weakness can teach us humility. Our struggles can give us compassion for others. And what we see as weakness, God can use as a vessel for His strength.

The Light Isn’t Ours

When God works through our weakness, we can’t take the credit. The crack reminds us that the light doesn’t originate with us – it comes from God. We are simply imperfect vessels, with cracks, through which HIs light can shine.

His grace is sufficient. His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

My Invitation

This is my invitation to you today: don’t let your weakness stop you from saying yes to God. Bring your weakness to Him, and let His grace shine through your cracks.