Here are two things the Jesus has been teaching me lately.
One. The enemy knows me!
& Two. Comparison is the thief of joy. All Joy.
Friends this week started out so good. Jesus is so faithful. I hit one of my fundraising goals. I have over $5,000 raised for my world race right now! I sat down on my bed the other night as tears of joy filled my eyes and simply just cried out to God in gratitude, praising His name.
The next day looked a little different. Scrolling through Facebook I was seeing the post of friends who are also going on the world race. & just like with myself the Lord has been so faithful to provide. Some friends are almost 100% funded. Which is awesome. However, I’m not even 30% funded yet. I went from a heart of praise to a little bit of bitterness. As I compared myself to other people the joy the Father had given me started to diminish. The amount of money in my account was the same. Not a penny different, but my attitude towards it had changed. I allowed the enemy to plant within me a seed of envy and from that, it continued to grow. I started looking at my planner. I leave in a few weeks for camp and come home only to move to D.C.! When will I have time to fundraise? How is this going to happen? The enemy took a little seed of doubt and watered it with fear until it grew. Growing to the point whereby the end of the day I was sickened by it.
But friends, thankfully I am not alone. Thankfully I am not my own. Thankfully He who is within me is greater than he who is in the world and the spirit of God began speaking truth to me. Truth that rung out much louder than the lies of the enemy. & in those moments the Lord reminded me His calling on my life. He reminded me that He is always faithful. He reminded me of His love for me & His love for people. All people, of all nations and tribes. & for a moment I just sat still and rested in who He was. Rested in His presence and His love and allowed Him to fill me back up!
I have thought about it a little bit & I’ve been learning a lot from it since then. The Lord used this to remind me that while my enemy does not know everything about me and cannot read my thoughts. He knows me well enough to know my points of weakness. He knows my temptations and my struggles. & therefore, I must be ready. As scripture says I must put on the full armor of God. Secondly, Jesus reminded me that when I take my eyes off of Him and place them on others that I will always lose my joy. When He is not the focus, life is incomplete! Period. He has to be my everything. He has to be my all.
& friends, as I sat there praying for His grace and forgiveness my phone binged. A friend donated $20 to my trip! Jesus is so faithful! So. So. So faithful!
So today, let’s take guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Let’s take our eyes off of the people around us and fix our eyes on Him. He is all we need! Will you join me today in praising Jesus for the ways He has been SO faithful to provide lately – seriously friends, $5,169 is something to be excited about!
