"How will comparing ourselves to others steal our joy?"

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Hebrews 13:5 "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have…"

The school bus was sitting in front of the high school waiting to load up with excited students going to some kind of Saturday competition. I remember like it was yesterday sitting in my car and watching them with a heavy heart as bitter tears streamed down my face.

I had just dropped my prodigal off for Saturday school to make up for his latest suspension. As I watched those carefree teens and impatient but obviously proud parents, I was overwhelmed with a sense of loss. I didn’t resent what they had…I was only devastated by what I did not.

If you love a prodigal, I’ve probably been reading chapter and verse from the things you have faced. You may even be there now and wondering how you’ll survive. It isn’t easy to be positive when it seems like everyone except you has reason to rejoice, is it?

Today’s verse challenges us to not be envious of what someone else has. And Paul said he had learned to be content regardless of his circumstances. (Phil 4:11) Envious? Content? We aren’t talking about wanting someone else’s material things! But how can we be content when our prodigals have broken our hearts and shattered every dream and hope we had for them?

A quick look at Paul’s life will prove he knew about hard times. He was scourged five times with 39 “stripes," beaten with rods three times, suffered two shipwrecks, was stoned and left for dead, imprisoned four times and finally killed for his faith.

So Paul wasn’t speaking from a rose garden, but from the trenches on the front line. And he knew how to be content even there. Why? The last part of Hebrews 13:5 gives us the answer: “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." I don’t understand why I have prodigals, and perhaps I never will. But I’ve learned a few things about faith on this journey, and I’ve learned that faith isn’t what I thought it was.

You see, faith isn’t our believing God will answer prayer. Faith is our trusting Him when He doesn’t answer those prayers the way we want. It isn’t easy to do that, and some days are tougher than others. However, we have God’s promise that He will walk with us through every hurt and loss and heartbreak. And He is faithful who has promised. (Heb 10:23)

Is your heart broken today? He’s faithful. Have you watched your dreams for your marriage, your children, your life go up in smoke? He’s faithful. Have you lost the person, the thing, the dream that you loved more than anything? Are you grieving the love you’ve lost or never had? He’s still faithful. When you cannot understand God’s hand, you can trust His heart.

I’m not saying it doesn’t hurt. I know it does. And there may be times when your mind has to go there. But you can choose not to pitch a tent and camp there. And comparing what you have with what someone else has isn’t going to help you. It’s only going to steal your joy.

Challenge for Today: What might happen if we, just for today, stopped comparing our lives to the lives of others and trusted God where we are?