No Comparison

Sovereign God,

Help me to lead the life that You have assigned to me — and to be content. I need to beware of comparing my situation with someone else’s, feeling dissatisfied because of the comparison. I realize it’s also hurtful to compare my current circumstances with how things used to be or with fantasies that bear little resemblance to reality. Instead, I must make every effort to accept as my calling the life You have assigned to me. This perspective takes the sting out of painful, difficult circumstances.

• If You have called me to a situation, I know You’ll give me everything I need to endure it — and even to find some Joy in the midst of it.

Please train my mind to trust Your sovereign ways with me — bowing before Your mysterious, infinite intelligence. I need to search for You in the details of my day, all the while looking expectantly for good to emerge from trouble. I’m learning to accept things the way they are, without losing hope for a better future. And I rejoice in the hope of Heaven, knowing that indescribably joyful Life is my ultimate calling!

In Your supremely wise Name, Jesus, Amen

Let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. — 1 Corinthians 7:17 ESV

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. — Philippians 4:12

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” — Romans 11:33–34

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Beloved Jesus,

Your Word tells me to sing to You because You have dealt bountifully with me. I confess that some- times singing praises is the last thing I feel like doing, but that’s when I need it the most. You have indeed dealt bountifully with me — even when it doesn’t seem that way. I’ve been on an uphill journey with You, and I’m growing weary. I yearn for some easy days, for a path that is not so steep. But I realize it is the strenuous climbs that take me ever upward — closer and closer to the summit.

Help me remember that the difficulty of my circumstances is not a mistake.

It’s a matter of Your sovereign will and — to some extent — my own goals. I desire to live close to You and to grow more fully into the one You created me to be. Pursuing these goals has put me on an adventurous trail where difficulties and dangers abound.

Sometimes I compare my life-path with those of people whose lives seem easier than mine. But I don’t fully comprehend the problems they face, nor do I know what the future holds for them. Instead of comparing my circumstances with those of others, I need to turn to You and listen as You instruct me, “You follow Me!”

In Your bountiful Name, Amen

I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me. — Psalm 13:6 NKJV

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect... He enables me to stand on the heights. — 2 Samuel 22:33–34

Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” — John 21:22 NASB

Excerpted with permission from Jesus Listens Note-Taking by Sarah Young, copyright Sarah Young. 

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Your Turn

Let’s not get stuck in comparison, but remember that God has designed our lives particularly for a reason. He sees what we can’t see and His plan is bigger than we can imagine. Let’s follow Him with joy! ~ Devotionals Daily