Comparison is the thief of joy.
And our thief hides behind a screen.
Here’s me just here to remind you that not all is as it seems behind the screen. We all know this, yet we still push it aside. We all know that ‘social media is a highlight reel’ and yet we continue to sabotage ourselves with consuming it.
Whatever our stance on Social media, we have to admit that technology is a major part of our life and to be without it – well, you'd be without a lot of connection!
I’m just here to remind you to think about where your foundation is. Because where your foundation is, your hope will be, and where you place your hope, your faith is set there too.
If you judge your life through the lens of what others are achieving (or not achieving), you will constantly be let down by the outcome. Because you are not them and they are not you. Your walk is not their walk, and theirs is not yours...
I’m sharing because I seen what this comparison does to my own heart and I've seen the danger that it holds.
And because of how I've seen it’s effect on me, I can stand alongside the well known quote...
‘Comparison is the thief of joy.’
So what does having a firm foundation have to do with not letting comparison steal your joy?
Because unless your heart is build of the steadfastness of your identity IN Christ, you will never stop searching for yourself in other places.
(1 Cirithians 3vs11 NLT)
“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.”
Jesus was before all things and in Him all was made. That includes you! He has laid this foundation and it is the only secure place for us to live from.
At the heart of the human life, we all have a longing for purpose and for conenciton.
We want to be a part of something,
we want to be needed,
we want to love and to be loved,
we want to be on a mission.
It's only natural that we have this longing because we were made for a great purpose! It’s when we place our hope in the outcome of our own quest that things get shaky. Because in our own humanity, we can’t hold ourselves together.
That’s why Jesus came, because people started to think they could do it themselves and when they couldn’t, they just fell further from their creator.
In our daily life, it is so easy to look at what others are doing, where others are, who others are with and how far they are and feel disappointed about our own life. Even if that’s not the case, it’s equally as damaging to look at others and feel the gleaning of being in a better place then them.
Why does this comapirson being us so down?
Because comparison places our sight in what is not important.
Comparison looks at the earthly gain and not the heavenly inheritance.
Comparison looks at what the world thingks you should be and not who God says you already ARE.
(Proverbs 13vs12 NIV)
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."
When your hope is misplaced, you are brought down.
And if our hope is in what we see, they our hope will constantly be dashed.
Even if it’s God inspired dreams and visions that our eyes are set on, the longer we place our confident expectation (another way of saying hope) in this, the more angst we’ll feel in our spirit.
This is because if they’re from God, then HE has to fulfil it, nothing we try do ourselves will satisfy.
SO we place our everything in Jesus, because He will never change.
And when our hope is in him, it doesn’t mean that trouble won't come, but it means that we won't be shaken by the storm. It means that when disappointment comes, we won't be depressed because we'll be moved to praise because we know that God is in control.
(Colossians 1vs16~17 ESV)
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
When I am securely found in Christ, my past is redeemed, my future is secure and my present is filled with Joy.
My strength comes from Him and my direction comes from Him.
I may not be where I want to be and I may pass uncomfortable situations, but I can stand strong in the journey because the one who was before all creation and is the glue that holds all creation together and will always be the heart of eternity is the one who loves me.
He is the one who holds my heart and He is the one I can trust.
Because He’s never let me down and He never will.
For as long as my faith is in him, I will be strong in who I am because I trust that I am becoming who He made me to be.
For as long as my faith is in him, my hope for all things is secure because I trust that he is the author of all things and the author of my life.
For as long as my faith is in him, I can rest because no matter what happens I trust that he hears my prayer, he collects my tears and he gather my worship.
I will press into finding my heart in Jesus, I will clothe myself in the armour of the spririt and I will harvest the fruits of the Spirit because I can rest in who He made me to be right now as I wait confidently on Him for His promises to come to fulfillment…. Because it is not in this world that I am found, it is in Jesus that I am found.
~X~
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