I've been in church for all 18 years of my life and one thing I've noticed that kills a Christian's passion for God is comparison. With Social Media it's even easier to see how great other peoples' lives are compared to your seemingly boring life. When my youth group goes to conventions a majority of the conversations leading up to the event are about how hipster our outfits are going to be. When we get there it then turns in to a conversation about who is dressed more hipster. Over the past few years I've really struggled with comparing myself to other believers and seeing if I was a "better Christian" than they were. A lot of the times I felt I didn't measure up to certain Christians and became judgemental of believers who I thought weren't living right. The idol of comparison began to snuff out my flame for God. My Christian walk was no longer about pleasing God, but became about being noticed by leaders, friends, and family.
King Saul is the perfect example of how comparison kills our love for God. In 1 Samuel 18, the Israelites are coming back from battle. In the battle Saul killed thousands of Philistines, but David killed hundreds of thousands of Philistines. The people began to praise David for his accomplishments. Verse 9 states, "So Saul eyed David from that day forward." Saul became scared that he would be outdone and overtaken, he didn't want to share the glory with David. His comparison of himself to David stirred up envy in his heart. It caused demons to come and torment him and his kingdom was eventually given to David. Has your comparison snuffed out your fire for God? Has your comparison turned to envy? You can be sure you are suffering from envy when... 1. You secretly get upset that your friends have succeeded where you have not 2. You use excuses to explain why someone did better than you 3. You can't stand to hear your friends complimented in your presence 4. You are better at criticism than you are at praise Instead of killing our flame for God in our lives, let's kill comparison. What I've noticed about comparison in my life is that it makes me forget my identity. I begin to feel inferior and not good enough, but that's not what Christ says about me. He says I am his workmanship created for good works (Ephesians 2:10). I was not created to feel less than, nor should I try to make others feel that way. Comparison also keeps me from the joy of the Lord. You can kill comparison in your life by, building others up and staying rooted in who Christ says you are. Encourage others. If there is something you admire about them, tell them. When you find yourself being caught by comparison remember who you are in Christ. You are loved. You are worthy. You are chosen.
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"Jesus sat in the midst of joy sipping the coming sorrow, so we can sit in the midst of sorrow and sip the coming joy. " -Timothy Keller Today is Good Friday, but two thousand years ago it was not considered a good day. It was the day our Savior was beaten and broken. It was the day he died on a cross. For Jesus' followers, friends, and family this day was anything but good. With him dead all hope seemed lost. But what they didn't know was what was going to happen on Sunday. On Sunday, Jesus rose from the grave! Friday didn't become good until Sunday. Friday was now good because it was the day we could pray to God without a priest. Friday was the day that our debt was paid. In the midst of what seemed like the worst day in history God was doing something incredible.
Some of you reading this might be going through a really difficult time. A time where nothing makes sense and the whole world seems against you. You may be in a season where there seems to be more pain than joy. I want to let you know that today may be your Friday, but Sunday is coming. At this moment the pain you're experiencing doesn't make any sense but one day it will. This season you're in could be a chance for you to learn to depend on God. A season where you learn to find joy even in the midst of suffering. Last year, I was in a place where I needed direction and it seemed that God wasn't listening to me. It became very frustrating, but during this time I learned to press into God. To praise Him even though I wasn't getting the answers I was looking for. It seeemed like I had a lot of Fridays, but eventually God gave me the answers I was looking for just when I needed to hear them. I can now look back on that season and see that God was doing something in my life that didn't make any sense at the time, but now does. That season had a purpose. Your awful situation has a purpose. God is doing something big in your life even though it doesn't seem like it in the present. It's Friday, but Sunday is coming! If you've beeen in the church long enough, you've most likely heard the story of Samson. If you haven't, or forgot some of the story, let me recap. In Judges 13, we find out Samson's birth was a miracle because of his mother's inability to have children. God ordered Samson to be put under the sanctification of the Nazarite vow. The vow required him to keep his hair long and stay away from wine. Skip ahead a few chapters and enters the infamous Delilah. We don't know much about Delilah, but we do know she had Samson in a trance. After a few failed attempts at finding the secret to Samson's strength and a few bruised Philistines, Samson finally reveals the secret- cut off his hair. Fast forward a few more verses and we see a blinded and weak Samson.
There is a verse in chapter 16 of Judges that you've probably skipped over, but this verse is so powerful. "But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved." Judges 16:22 This verse brings me so much hope. Even in my shortcomings God hasn't given up on me. I am so glad that Samson's heart didn't completely harden. It is so easy to become callous after the bottom falls out. Samson's power, hair, and eyes are gone. To me these conditions would be reason enough to give up on God. I'm sure Samson had these thoughts running through his head and was struggling with shame for what he had done. Even in the worst situation of his life God was still working. "But the hair of his head began to grow back..." No matter how far you've gone, or how bad you've messed up, there is a God who is ready to pick you up. I serve a "but God." Samson believed again that God was his only true source of strength. It's believed that Samson killed more Philistines in the last moment of his life than he did at any other moment. There is no way that could've happened BUT GOD! You might say you can't do what God has called you to do BUT GOD! Money may be tight BUT GOD! You may feel lost and alone BUT GOD! If you feel like life is too hard and there is no hope rest in the fact that at any moment God is going to butt in. I was recently told the story of a 12-year-old girl, Katelyn, who live-streamed her suicide. I heard this story two weeks ago and can not get it out of my mind. It breaks my heart. This story moved me to look up statistics about suicide and I was shocked. Everyday in the US 121 people commit suicide and recently that number is on the rise (The New York Times). The question that has been rattling through my brain is, "What can I do?" I can't change what happened to Katelyn, but I can help someone going through a similar situation. I've been praying, asking God how I can help and the following is what He placed on my heart.
Get your eyes off of yourself. "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:4 We live in a world that is consumed with self. God is calling us to look beyond our selves and see the hurting around us. When God shows you these people don't be afraid to ask them the tough questions. Ask them how they're really doing. Ask them what's going on at home. Ask them if you can pray for them. These seemingly awkward questions could radically change someone's life. Stop wasting time. Victor Hugo once said, "Short as life is, we make it still shorter by the careless waste of time." Most of the time we spend could be doing something for God, but instead we spend it making excuses. We tell God we can't go talk to that person because we're too busy. Stop making excuses and start doing something. When you get to heaven and God asks you why you didn't tell someone about Jesus no excuse will work. Today ask God to help you get your eyes off of yourself and onto others. Ask Him to give you the words to speak life into someone else. Tell everyone you can about God's great love. Don't let what happened to Katelyn happen again. Today you can change someone's life and it starts by stepping out of your comfort zone. At the beginning of my senior year I realized that I only had one year left to really impact my school and friends. I began to ask God what I could do to make a difference. After spending lots of time in prayer God revealsed to me a few things that I could do to impact the lives of those around me.
If you want to impact the people around you seek God first. This seems like a very obvious thing, but it's definitely not always easy. Junior year I was on fire for God and ready to make a difference. I had so many plans of what I wanted to do, but didn't get them done because I got distracted. I was distracted by friends, boys, and even school. The last day of school I ran out in excitement, but soon remembered that I hadn't accomplished all of the things God had called me to do that school year. How do you keep God first in your life? In Genesis, Chapter 17, God tells Abraham, "Walk and live habitually before Me." (AMP) God told Abraham to be habitual in living for Him. You can do this by getting into His word and praying daily. Don't let praying and reading become part of a checklist, but come hungry and expectant. Being consistent and persistent is also key in making an impact. Recently I watched a documentary titled Undivided. The documentary shows how a church unites with an at-risk high school. When the pastor was asked why they are making such an impact on the school he says, "We weren't the first church that wanted to help, but we are the only church that has stayed to help." It is not enough to witness every now and then, but we need to live consistent lives that are persistently sharing the gospel. You won't see God move if you sit back and do nothing. There are many people who have big dreams, but the people who change the world are the ones willing to do them. "The same Jesus who turned water into wine, can transform your home, your life, your family, and your future. He is still in the miracle-working business, and his business is the business of transformation." Transformation can come to every area of your life, but it starts with you laying down your idols and chasing after God. "God can't bless who you pretend to be."
This quote has shaken me to my core over the last year. As the new year begins I thought it would be appropriate to share what I learned in 2016 (which was a lot, but I'll try keep it short). All my life I've tried to be someone besides me. I always had this thought that everyone else was cooler than me and if I wanted to be cool I needed to be like them. This started as a child and never really stopped, it then transferred over into my spiritual life. I was always jealous of people who seemed to have a better relationship with Christ. People who found it easy to open up their bible and pray everyday. I wanted that, but I wasn't willing to put in the effort. I had the appearance that I was close to Christ, but in reality I was searching for Him. I realized that I wasn't who people thought I was. I began to try to live up to what others thought/expected of me and only ended up failing. Over the past year God has moved radically in my youth group. People who were once very timid are now boldly declaring the name of Jesus in front of their friends. I noticed that God wasn't moving like this in my life. I prayed and prayed asking Him to do something incredible in me, but nothing changed. One night after praying I heard the quote from Steven Furtick, "God can't bless who you pretend to be." Pastor Furtick was referencing Jacob and his constant desire to be like his brother Esau. He mentioned that Jacob never received his full blessing from God until he stopped trying to be who he was not. God showed me I was trying to be like everyone else, but that's not the type of life He wanted me to live. I realized God wasn't moving in my life because I wasn't me. I was trying so hard to be someone else that I didn't stop to think that there was a reason God created me the way He did. I had forgotten about the talents He had given me to reach people. I forgot about the influence he had given me among my friends. I didn't see God moving because I wasn't moving! I'm still learning what it means to live an authentic life. I have found rest and joy knowing that He fully knows the real me and still loves me. I pray that in 2017 you would discover that God is deeply in love with who you are, so you can take the mask off and live authentically. |