Slay the spirit of comparison

God wants us to succeed!  He knows where we are at and will work with us step by step to mature us.  Jesus is not just Author, He is also Perfecter.   If we let God do His work he will naturally move us from glory to glory.  Unfortunately there is a spirit that would alienate us from God and His perfecting work, the spirit of comparison.  When we will feel the need to take on attributes of or the entirety of the life of another in order to do God’s will and to receive His delight and pleasure towards us, then we are under the spirit of comparison.  Rather God desires for us to feel empowered in our relationship with Him to hear and obey what he has for us to accomplish.  We already are delighted in by Him; He is well pleased with us now before action or listening or anything!  We don’t need to prove anything.  This spirit of comparison is infecting our lives – even in our families, with our co-workers, in schools, in sports etc. – because that is the culture we live in.  This isn’t the culture of heaven.  The bear and lion come before the giant; if we look at what David could do without knowing his history, we may feel we need to slay the giant straightaway.  The power of testimony is to build faith; satan has been in the habit of taking that encouraging word and setting a standard in our hearts that we must meet. We then feel as failures or begin to look down on others in judgment.  Satan wants to breed shame, insecurity, guilt, and condemnation through comparison.  None of this is God's heart.  

Ultimately, God desires for us to be joined closer to His heart.  If we recognize where we are at - and are okay with that - we will be able to journey with Him step by step rather than stumble trying to slay the giant God hasn’t called us to slay.  The path of the shepherd turned giant slayer is one that produces longevity, but when we are premature in comparison or performance with our attack of the giant discouragement will be the fruit. Not that there won't be times when we are asked to take action that will grow our faith or that "failures" will never occur.  We will discover success as we step out in obedience building on what He has worked in us previously...and we will have fun doing it!  Because being a part of God's work is exhilarating, encouraging, life-giving, and special.  It’s like in a family.  If one has a son who is two years old, and another baby is just born, the parent will not compare the two.  Just because the baby can’t walk or run or talk like the two-year-old doesn’t mean there is less love for the baby or less delight in the baby.  Even as the baby grows, no matter if the baby walks/talks/crawls/smiles etc. earlier or later than the growing process of the now two-year-old, it won’t matter!  Both the baby and the two-year-old are loved because they belong to the mother and father.  We belong to our Father; we are His delight no matter where we are in our growth process.  Don’t be afraid to hear from the Lord because of what He might call you to do and so never truly get intimate with the Lord.  Seek Him, listen for His voice.  Be encouraged by what He is doing with and in others; He will only call you to do what He empowers you to accomplish.  He will call you to action to come closer to His heart.  Intimacy is what obedience is all about: giving more and more of yourself to receive more and more of Him.  He guarantees it is worth the risk; so do I.

Let us stop comparing ourselves with others…and others with ourselves.  Let us praise the Lord for His work in/through us and in/through others desiring all to be drawn deeper and deeper into His heart.