From Comparison to Confidence: Small Steps Toward Lasting Change

Scriptures: Galatians 6:9, Philippians 1:6

We live in a world addicted to novelty. 

Every time we turn on our phones, something new captures our attention. This addiction to what’s new makes it difficult for us to stick with essential habits and truths. Just like children who cry, “I’m bored!” We adults often abandon good practices simply because we’re tired of the repetition. 

Think about it—how often have you started a new habit with excitement, only to give up when it became routine? Maybe it was Bible reading, prayer, or another spiritual discipline. We often quit right before the practice started transforming us. 

Our repeated pattern of distraction keeps us from taking the steps we want to take and experiencing the flourishing our souls long to discover. 

Repeated words stick in our brains. Have you ever found yourself the song from a commercial or thinking about a brand slogan? “Just do it.” “Have it your way.” “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” These phrases stick in our minds not because they’re particularly profound but because they’re simple and consistently repeated. 

I’ve learned the power of repetition in a surprising context. For years, I struggled with insecurity. Many of us think insecurity is just a teenage problem that we’ll outgrow. But in my nearly two decades of ministry, I’ve discovered that it creeps up on us in every stage of life. I meet people aged 17 and 70 who are dealing with the same struggles of feeling inadequate or unworthy. 

The secret to overcoming insecurity is repeating. Put another way, if you want to reap a harvest of a healthy identity, you need to repeat a process to overcome insecurity. 

This process is essential. Because in five years, you will reap a harvest. Instead of apples or bananas, you’ll reap an identity and a personality. The question is: who will you be? If nothing changes, as author Levi Lusko has noted, the future you will be an exaggerated version of the present you. In some areas, that might be good news. But in others – especially regarding our insecurities – that could be devastating news. 

The good news is that God has given us a powerful tool for transformation: repetition. When we consistently repeat truth and godly habits, they shape who we become. As Galatians 6:9 reminds us, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” 

Tomorrow, we’ll explore specific truths about God’s character that we must repeat to overcome insecurity. But today, I want you to pause and reflect on the following three questions. 

• What areas of your life would be concerning if they became more exaggerated over the next five years? 
• Where have you given up on important habits because they became boring? 
• What truth about God do you need to start repeating daily? 

Don’t let your answers to those questions discourage you. We serve a God who always us a chance to begin again! I’ll see you tomorrow.

Scriptures: Psalms 139:1-6, Psalms 139:13-16

Have you ever felt like no one truly knows or understands you? That feeling of being unknown can feed our deepest insecurities. 

Today, I want to teach you three essential truths about God’s character. Don’t let the big words intimidate you – you’ve learned challenging words before! (If you can master the difference between a tall, grande, and venti coffee order at a Starbucks, you can handle these!) 

First, we serve a God of omniscience – He knows everything. Psalm 139 tells us that God knows when we sit down and stand up. He understands our thoughts before we think them. He’s aware of all our ways. Here’s the beautiful thing about God’s all-knowing nature: God knows everything, so we don’t have to. 

Many of us exhaust ourselves trying to know and control everything. Our anxiety about the future, constant “what-if” questions, and the need to figure everything out aren’t knowledge problems. They’re control problems. We feel the need to always be in control. However, God’s omniscience frees us from that burden. 

Second, God is omnipresent – He is always with us. David wrote, “Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7). Some of us believe God is only present when we’re “being good” and absent when we mess up. We feel close to God when we’re sustaining great habits and far from God when we’ve gone down the wrong road. But nowhere will life take us where God cannot meet us. Your best moments and worst moments – God is right there. You may not feel close to God, but your feelings and perceptions about reality don’t change the character and power of God. 

Finally, God is omnipotent – He is all-powerful. David celebrates this by saying, God “knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). Every part of who you are comes from God’s handiwork. When you feel powerless to change, remember you serve an all-powerful God. No prayer is too big for Him to answer, nor is there a problem too large for Him to solve. 

With those three characteristics in mind, here’s a practical step my friend Josh recently reminded me about. There’s a big difference between trying and training.When we try something, we judge ourselves based on whether we succeed or fail the first time. However, when we train for something, we accept that we are not ready to grow. Instead, we consistently practice training to build the capacity to do what we cannot do in the future. 

Let’s apply that analogy. Following Jesus is more about training and less about trying. Meditating on your problems (worrying) is an example of trying. Meditating on God’s character is an example of training. Many of us are closer to transformation than we think – we need to redirect our meditation skills! Instead of worrying about what could go wrong, what if we focus on who God is and how His character will make things right? When you’re tempted to worry today, pause and redirect your focus to the fact that God knows everything, is always with you, and is all-powerful. 

Tomorrow, I’ll share how these truths about God’s character can transform the soundtracks playing in your mind. But today, ask yourself: Which of God’s characteristics – His all-knowing nature, His constant presence, or His unlimited power – do you most need to remember right now? 

Remember: If you want to reap a harvest of security in God’s love, you must repeat these truths about His character!

Scriptures: Romans 8:37-39, Philippians 4:8

When I sit down to write, I don’t work in silence. I often listen to movie soundtracks, particularly those composed by Hans Zimmer. From Gladiator to The Dark Knight to Top Gun: Maverick, his music helps me focus and create. 

But whether or not you enjoy movie soundtracks, we all have soundtracks playing in our heads. These are the phrases and thoughts that come back repeatedly.Research has shown that about 80 percent of our thoughts are repetitive day after day. Some mental soundtracks are life-giving, but many are unhelpful – intrusive, negative, and discouraging thoughts. They might be things people have said about us or the “greatest hits” of our failures and disappointments. 

If you want to overcome insecurity, you need to address these soundtracks. Author and speaker Jon Acuff teaches that changing your mental soundtrack involves three steps: 

1. Identify and interrupt the old soundtrack. Learn to recognize that negative voice when it creeps up.
2. Replace that soundtrack with a new one based on truth.
3. Repeat the new ones until they define who you are.

Think about how you change the music playing in your car. When a song comes on that you don’t like, you first have to notice it. Then, you can hit skip and choose a better song. Finally, you might add that better song to a playlist you return to often. The same process works with our mental soundtracks. 

Here’s an example. Many of us have this soundtrack: “I’ve failed too much to do anything great for God.” But consider Paul’s words in Romans 8:37-39: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Remember who wrote these words – Paul was once a terrorist who persecuted and murdered Christians! Yet God transformed him into one of the most influential followers of Jesus in history. When Paul felt unworthy, he replaced that soundtrack with the truth of God’s unfailing love. 

Another familiar soundtrack is “I feel inadequate for what God has called me to do.” But throughout Scripture, God routinely called “inadequate” people to do extraordinary things: 

• Moses had a speech impediment yet became God’s spokesperson to Pharoah in Exodus 5 
• Gideon was hiding in fear when God called him a mighty warrior in Judges 6 
• Simon was known for being inconsistent, yet Jesus named him Peter (which means “Rock”) in John 1 

The key isn’t changing these soundtracks once – it’s repeating the new truth until it becomes more familiar than the old lies. This process takes time. You won’t fix a soundtrack you’ve had since childhood in a month or even a year. But in five years of consistently replacing lies with truth? That’s how lasting change happens. 

Here’s a practical way to start: When you notice a negative soundtrack playing, write it down. Then find a verse that directly contradicts that lie. Put that verse somewhere you’ll see it daily – maybe as your phone’s lock screen or on your bathroom mirror. Every time you see it, speak it out loud. Remember, you’re not just trying to think different thoughts – you’re training yourself to believe different truths. 

Tomorrow, I’ll share a personal story about how God exposed some toxic soundtracks in my life. But today, what negative soundtrack keeps playing in your mind? What truth from God’s Word could replace it? 

Remember: If you want to harvest confidence in God’s calling, you must repeat His truth about your identity.

Scriptures: Zechariah 4:6, Zechariah 4:10, Galatians 6:9, Proverbs 3:5-6

Let me share a personal story about my battle with comparison and insecurity. 

Last year, I opened Instagram and saw another pastor sharing a story. It was a story I had told myself in a sermon eight years ago. At first, I thought, “Oh, I know that story!” But as I watched his post gain thousands of likes and shares, something ugly started stirring in my heart. 

This pastor had over 130,000 followers, while I had a little over a thousand. As I scrolled through his profile, I felt envy and bitterness rising. Why was he getting so much attention for something I’d shared years ago?! Why weren’t my posts getting that kind of response?! 

Then God powerfully convicted my heart. “Look closer,” He seemed to say. As I scrolled through this pastor’s feed, I noticed something important: he hadn’t missed posting on a single day in over a year. I envied his results while rejecting his daily work to achieve them. My Instagram posting had been inconsistent at best. 

Convinced by this revelation, I did something unexpected. I recorded a video message to this pastor, whom I’d never met, confessing how God had used his faithfulness to expose my heart issues. To my surprise, he responded with incredible grace and encouragement. We’ve developed a friendship over Instagram, and I look forward to sharing a meal with him later this year. 

I learned that our responsibility is obedience, while God’s responsibility is the outcome. We often envy someone else’s results while ignoring the process that got them there. We see a strong marriage and want that intimacy, not realizing thatyears of struggle, hard conversations, and forgiveness built that marriage. We admire someone’s spiritual maturity without considering the daily prayer and Bible study habits that shaped their faith as they endured one crisis after another. 

When it comes to becoming more like Jesus, the inconvenient truth is that it will be slower, more challenging, and more expensive than you think. We live in a time when everyone loves fast, easy, and cheap solutions, but transformation doesn’t work that way.

What does faithful obedience look like? It’s rarely dramatic. It’s opening your Bible before opening social media. It’s choosing to pray during your morning commute instead of just listening to music. It’s writing down one thing you’re grateful for each night before bed. It’s pausing to worship when you feel anxious instead of reaching for your phone. 

These habits might seem small, but they’re like compound interest for your soul.Just as saving a few dollars daily can grow into significant wealth over the years, these small acts of faithfulness grow into profound spiritual maturity. The key isn’t doing everything perfectly – it’s doing something consistently. 

The prophet Zechariah reminds us, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” (Zechariah 4:10). God isn’t looking for quick results but faithful obedience. He’s more interested in the daily transformation process than in overnight success.

We’ll wrap up with specific steps to maintain this growth journey tomorrow. But today, ask yourself: Where have you focused on outcomes instead of obedience? What daily habit with God have you been avoiding because it seems too slow or hard? 

Remember: To harvest Christ-like character, you must repeat the faithful obedience process.

Scriptures: Galatians 6:7-10, Psalms 1:1-3

As this plan draws to a close, you might think, “Scott, this all sounds good, but I’ve tried to change before and failed. What makes this time different?” 

Here’s what I believe: the difference isn’t in your ability to change – it’s in your willingness to let God change you through small, consistent steps of obedience.You don’t have to overcome insecurity in one dramatic moment. You need to take the next small step of faith, trusting that God will multiply your faithful repetition into a harvest of confidence in His love. 

If you’ve been following this plan all week, you’ve learned that overcoming insecurity requires repeating three key practices: 

1. Repeating the truth about God’s character – He knows everything, is always present, and is all-powerful. 
2. Repeating your identity as His beloved child – replacing toxic soundtracks with truth. 
3. Repeating faithful habits – focusing on obedience rather than outcomes. 

But here’s the challenge – willpower doesn’t last forever. After all, Quitters Day is the second Friday of January each year. What’s Quitters Day, you ask? It is the day when most New Year’s resolutions are broken. Most of us think about intensity rather than consistency regarding change. We list everything we will do differently and get motivated initially, but that motivation eventually runs out. 

As Pastor Craig Groeschel says, you need to focus on consistency rather than intensity to sustain change. The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we do not give up.” When making changes, it’s not about how hard you can go or how perfectly you can keep all those habits. Change comes through consistency – day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. 

Remember the statements I shared on Day 1? If you want to reap a harvest, you need to repeat a process. We overestimate what we can do in one year but underestimate what God can do in five years. 

That overestimation focuses on intensity. That underestimation overlooks the power of consistency. Here are three practical steps to help you maintain consistency: 

1. Start smaller than you think you should. Instead of promising to read the Bible for an hour daily, start with five minutes. Rather than pledging never to feel insecure again, write down one truth about God’s love each morning. 
2. Create accountability. Share this devotional and your plans with a trusted friend or join a small group at church. When those old insecure soundtracks start playing, you need people to remind you of God’s truth. 
3. Celebrate small wins. Did you choose gratitude instead of comparison today? Did you recognize a negative soundtrack rather than merely being a victim? Those victories are worth celebrating! Remember Zechariah’s words – God rejoices to see the work begin.