We've all been there: The stress seems to build and build until you just can't take it anymore. You can't keep up with your classes, your job seems to never make enough money, your bills are piling up, and soon -- it all becomes too much.
But then you quickly think, "Well, at least I'm doing better than so and so." Why do we do that? Why do we compare our life to someone who is worse off than us? Sure, we feel better for a while, but our anxiety returns after just a few hours or days. Shouldn't we, as Christians, have the first reaction of prayer for that person in need and then ask God to challenge us through our own struggle?
To see the goodness in our struggle and the blessing in our darkest moments, it takes a different approach. We must turn our eyes upon Christ, because He is our only comparison. We cannot compare our circumstances to someone else's just because their walk with God is different. I use the word different,because they are not worse off than you or me. God is using their weakest times to strengthen them for tougher battles. He may even put them in our path to strengthen them, to encourage them.
Our comparison is and forever will be Jesus Christ, and He is the incomparable. God's mercy, grace and unconditional love is what we should use as an example to react to our struggles and other's hardships.
Psalm 119:65 says "You have dealt well with your servant, O Lord, according to your word."
Recently, my pastor read this verse to the congregation and asked the question, "What would it take for you to stop? What would it take for you to stop believing and being the Christian that you say you are?"
I sat in my church pew running this question over and over in my head... While I do believe my faith is strong, I wondered "What wouldit take?" While I have suffered some serious tragedy in my young twenty years of living, I eventually turned to my Lord, because I had nothing left. But then I realized, I should be turning to God in the midst of my tragedy because I know He will guide me to peace, not because I've tried everything else and I've become desperate for relief.
This made me come to the realization that my trust in my savior needs to be immediate. I must not compare my troubles to someone else. I must run to my savior, arms wide open, desperate to see the good in my struggle.
