Comparison Robbed Me

Lately, I’ve found myself in the pits of comparison in all sorts of areas of my life. It’s quite dark, pretty slimy, and very chilly. It’s also extremely lonely. I stare up toward the opening of this pit and see just a small patch of light. How did I go from standing in full sunlight, to barely being able to see anything at all?

With the world we live in today, everything is immediately accessible to us. Instructions, pictures, advice, news, music, videos, all that you could ever want or need. My social media is filled with people who are working out (successfully), going to these spectacular travel sites, getting major job opportunities, receiving tons of social media attention (who knew someone could get over 1 million likes?), dating the perfect significant other, and apparently just living the dream life. All while I work out (but still love to eat ice cream), go somewhere an hour away for my “vacation”, have no idea what job I want, get barely any social media attention, have been single as a Pringle for 5 years, and am overall struggling to get through this thing called life.

And I wonder why I’m so discontent with where the Lord has me right now?

I spend so much time looking at the people around me and what they’re doing in their lives. I begin to believe the lies that I’m unable to do anything of value. I don’t write like she does. I don’t love people well the way he does. I don’t have the motivation and diligence they do. The list goes on. But, those people were never meant to be my focus. I was never supposed to be just like them.

I am called to look to Jesus, “the Founder and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2a).  I am to look at the perfect Savior who suffered the very worst for me because of His love for me (Romans 8:32). I am to look at the Father who is merciful and forgiving even when I don’t deserve it (1 John 1:7). I am to look at the Creator who designed me exactly as He saw fit to do so (Psalm 139:14). I am to look at the Almighty God who empowers me to do what He has asked me to do (Philippians 2:13).

I haven’t written in a long time because I fell into comparing my blog with a friend’s. I saw the response she got to her writing and it was far greater than my own. I fell into the trap of comparison and allowed it to steal the joy that I have found in writing this blog. I lost the real reason as to why I started writing – to share the power of the Lord in my own life to encourage and strengthen others. To be a testimony to the light of God. But, no longer will I allow the devil to steal this platform from me. No longer will he keep my light from shining.