One thing that will cause frustration in our lives is comparing ourselves to others. God made us all so unique, in our skills, circumstances, relationships, and so many other ways that there truly is no way to make an accurate comparison. We can often fall into the trap of comparing individual aspects of our lives to other people’s. The trouble occurs when we believe we are “better,” than others, or when we believe we are “inferior,” to others. Both of these situations cause trouble.

God made each of us uniquely for his purpose. In Galatians 6:4,5 Paul writes, “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.”

He also wrote in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

We need to focus on where God is leading us, and be happy for others who do the same in their lives.

Dear Lord, You made amazing plans for each of us, but we must trust you to see where they lead. Help us do that, by just taking each step forward in the direction we hear you calling, and not compare ourselves to others who are on their own paths. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

We see in the Bible accounts of people who are following God’s instruction but for different reasons they lose their discipline, and begin doing things they know are wrong. One small step at a time and they end up completely disobeying God’s direction. We see this in our worlds today as well, people we know who were faithful members of our churches, and even pastors, fall away and then begin making bad decisions that drag them further astray.

Maintaining our faith requires the discipline to read God’s word, think about it, pray, worship and strive to practice God’s direction. Like maintaining our bodies, we need to eat well in order to stay healthy.

I think this is the idea Jesus was trying to deliver in the story of his temptation, while he was fasting in the desert, recorded in Matthew and Luke. Matthew 4:3,4 says, “During that time the Devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Just like food is for life, God’s words of instruction, education, and salvation are the food we need for our Christian life on earth and eternally, without it we are starving ourselves, making us weaker and easier prey for temptation.

Dear Lord, thank you for your word that provides us the spiritual food we need to make us strong and resilient. Help us have the discipline to study it regularly to keep ourselves firm in our faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Courage is uncomfortable. It takes courage to step outside our comfortable, familiar activities and habits to do something good but difficult.

To become better at something, forgive someone, serve on a church committee, volunteer at a shelter or soup kitchen, go on a mission trip, or go against the peer pressure to criticize, and gossip, takes courage.

Sometimes we see a worthy objective, but we don’t want to accomplish it bad enough to endure the discomfort that comes with the courage of taking action. To act, we need enough courage to tip the balance toward action. In ways, courage is delicate.

We can affect each other in this process. When we discourage someone, we make it more difficult for them to take the action, but alternatively, when we encourage them we make it easier for them to go outside their comfort zone and accomplish something valuable.

Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us, “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”

This is one of the important reasons we attend worship services and fellowship with other Christians. We can encourage them, and they can encourage us to move the balance toward Christian action.

Dear Lord, help us remember the importance of encouraging each other to “acts of love and good works.” We may never know the power our simple encouragement may have on someone to do great things to your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Just after Solomon was king of Israel, there was a split in the kingdom of Israel with Judah in the south and Israel in the north. During this time, God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah trying to tell the people of Judah to get back on course and follow God’s guidance.

He writes in Jeremiah 6:16, “This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!”

How similar is this to the attitude many people have today. They know right and wrong in their hearts, they can read God’s guidance in the Bible, they can look and see people who have followed God’s direction and had peace and prosperity, but after all this input, many people still say, “no that is not the road we want.” They live their lives in opposition to the direction God has established, and wonder why things don’t work out for them.

Ultimately, Judah was overtaken, destroyed and its people were enslaved.

Dear Lord, You give us right and wrong in our consciences, you outline your will in the bible, and you provide us many wonderful Christians on which to model our lives. Help us use these things to keep us on the path that leads to your will. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I have not seen a scientific study on the subject, but it seems to me that people’s expectations and attitude have an effect on how things work for them. When people tend to expect things will work out, and are optimistic, it seems like things tend to go well for them. On the other hand, people that tend to see and talk about the negative results, and tend to expect that things will not work out, tend to get what they expect.

The Bible appears to allude to this in a couple passages. Proverbs 11:27 says, “Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it.” Though used in a little different context, Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”

As Christians, we know God loves us, and is watching over us. We also know that we are saved for eternity. With this foundation, how can we not be optimistic and move forward expecting good things.

Dear Lord, you have offered peace to those who follow you, and we should have joy knowing that you care for us. Help us move forward therefore, seeking good as Proverbs says and expect the favor you promise. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.