Comparison is the Thief of Joy

I had a thought just a minute ago about people.

We are competitive by nature. It can be good. It can also be very destructive and horrid.

There's a bad habit of comparing people to other people. As if, somehow, one is better than the other.

Don't hear me wrong - I think sometimes healthy competition is good. If you have the right heart about it, it's a way to celebrate one's accomplishments - demonstrating their work, worth, discipline, and dedication - and can also be very humbling causing one to realize that they are indeed not the center of the universe and that every human being on the planet for the entire history of existence MESSES UP AND IS NOT PERFECT. Winning is good. Losing is good. All things (I will say, most things) have the potential to be good if they are done with grace, thanksgiving, a pure heart, a sound mind, love, mercy.

All that to say, I think it's important to be the "best 'you' you can be". What does that mean? I don't really know. I desire to live a life "worthy of the calling with which [I was] called" (Ephesians 4:1). To me that requires striving to look more like Christ, and that requires improving the way I act, think, speak, love to try my best to accomplish these things. If I'm trying my best, I am content. God is always good, perfect, loving, fair, sovereign, abounding in love and grace, and doesn't change. I falter and am weak, inconsistent, flawed, human. God still loves me and requires my all. I want Him to have it.

Even if those around me are not striving toward this same goal, I need to remind myself, and them as well, that if I'm giving my best, and they're giving their best, there isn't a need to compare and compete in that. No one's "best" is "better" in the Kingdom of God. We are all His children and loved equally by Him, because He has the capability to love perfectly and completely, unlike we do. We are in part, He is complete. We can be complete in Him.

That was definitely a rant, but I needed to get that out of my brain. Comparison is the thief of Joy.

Brothers and sisters, be content with RIGHT NOW. Strive to better yourself in the name of Christ for the glory and honor of God, but live with an attitude of thanksgiving, servitude, humility, and peace for where you are in this very moment. And this moment. And this one.

To Him be the eternal glory, Amen!

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You will be called Blessed

I need not expect; I need only to pray, to trust God, and to live.

God is so good. He is sovereign, and I have to remind myself of that frequently. There are times where my plans and ideas just so happen to fall in line with His ("Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." -Psalm 37:4) but I'm reminded again and again that God's name is to be praised in the highest, given all glory and honor, regardless of what I go through or any unfortunate shenanigans that occur.

And oldie but a goodie, the song "Blessed Be Your Name" still speaks to me. Mostly the two verses:

"Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful;

where your streams of abundance flow, blessed be Your name.

Blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place;

though I walk through the wilderness, blessed be Your name.

Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me;

when the world's all as it should be, blessed be Your name.

Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering;

though there's pain in the offering, blessed be Your name."

That everything in this life is a blessing when your faith is in Christ is something I believe. Since He works all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), we can rest assured that by continuing to put our faith in Him and trying to live a life worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1) we will be blessed. We will be called the sons and daughters of God. 

He is able to do immeasurably more than we will ever be able to understand or even ask for. That is why I have full confidence that the things that happen in my life will be according to God's plan. I only pray that I live humbly so as to leave a legacy of Christ and not of myself. 

A recent occurrence in my life has shown me that prayer and supplication are effective, and that God is faithful. Something I once desired selfishly, but now desire to the glory of God, was denied to me when I sought it for my own purposes. But when I gave it over to God and trust Him, praying about it fervently, my prayers were answered unexpectedly and where I wasn't expecting. The details aren't important (yet), but I pray that you, friends, can be encouraged that God is working everywhere, in everything, through everyone who believes in Him and even those who don't. The Holy Spirit is mysterious and wonderful. 

I praise God on high for His marvelous works, and for the very nature of His being. His love for me is astounding, and I cannot comprehend His grace. I am humbled by the mercy He has shown by making the ultimate sacrifice of His only son. That is truly beyond my understanding. And I love it. 

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. 

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