Keeping Up with Jesus

Perhaps you’re familiar with the quote, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I am. I’ve heard it many times, and yet I was surprised recently to discover that the first person it was ever attributed to was President Theodore Roosevelt.  That was interesting trivia, at least to me. I suppose I thought the words were spoken by a preacher, or maybe a motivational speaker. And yet, regardless of origin, it’s a truth that bears repeating, and so it has. Again. And again. 

It’s because we all know it to be true. Don’t we?

We know that comparing what we have or don’t have, and what we are experiencing or not experiencing with those around us, is to invite discouragement if not depression into our souls. The carefully curated social media images of those celebrating the seemingly perfect Christmas season with the apparently ideal family can deflate us as quickly as a balloon suffering a surprising pin prick. We know it’s jolly stealing folly but to escape it can be harder than acknowledging it because it can pounce so unexpectantly. 

Banking on the fact that the temptation to compare stalks all of us, and not just at Christmas, I’d like to offer you a serious life hack. Make it your aim to keep up with Jesus.

I’ve been putting this desire in the form of a prayer for some time now and because I’ve been asking Father God to remind me when my guard is down and I’m looking around, He is doing precisely that. Why? Because my request lines up with what He wants for me. It’s what He desires for you, too! My prayer sounds something like this, “Lord, the only One I want to keep up with is YOU! I want to keep up with where You are, and with what You’re doing. Please alert me when I’m grasping for for any relationship, any achievement, any experience, or any outcome that doesn’t feature You, that doesn’t have You as the Reward.” 

The Bible has much to say about longing and comparison. Philippians 4:11-12 and Corinthians 10:12 are good places to begin listening to what God says about the folly of people comparing themselves to people. I considered printing them here, but I’d like to encourage you to look them up instead. It will be so valuable for you. Read them aloud, write them down, and ask the Holy Spirit to plant the truth found in His Word deep in your own heart and then remind you of it at every turn.

Over and again, Jesus bids us come. God invites us to believe in Him, to follow Him, to move through this life with Him, to continue on “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 

Let’s be found reaching and grasping for Him alone.

Let’s keep up with Jesus. 

Hugs,
Shellie