The Struggle To Keep Up
Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:25-27)
Recently, I was at the gym doing some bench presses, and there were these guys next to me lifting too. As I watched them, I thought to myself, “Hey, these guys are younger than me and I’m not going to let them show me up.” So I decided to put whatever weight on my bar that I saw on theirs.
The problem happened when they kept adding more weight and adding more weight, and my ego wouldn’t let me stop. I kept adding weight as well, but then I ended up embarrassing myself with the bar crashing down on my chest because I wasn’t willing to admit when I had reached my limit.
We get into trouble when we try to take on more tasks than we are able to handle, especially when our motivation is to keep up with the people around us. You know what I’m talking about. You know people, or you see people online, and they keep adding more and more responsibilities to their “to do” list. It seems like they can do eighteen things at one time without breaking a sweat. But when you try to match their pace and productivity, you find yourself exhausted and discouraged.
The goal for us as believers should be to live a life that is obedient and surrendered to our heavenly Father, not to compare our lives with others. And we can trust that whatever God is leading us to do, He will give us the strength, the energy, the time, and the focus to do it.
So if you find yourself caught in a comparison trap, if you’re struggling with staying in your lane because you’re too focused on someone else’s life, begin praying and ask the Lord to help you keep your eyes on Him. His will is the goal. May we all remember that as we walk through this day and the days to come.
Recently, I was at the gym doing some bench presses, and there were these guys next to me lifting too. As I watched them, I thought to myself, “Hey, these guys are younger than me and I’m not going to let them show me up.” So I decided to put whatever weight on my bar that I saw on theirs.
The problem happened when they kept adding more weight and adding more weight, and my ego wouldn’t let me stop. I kept adding weight as well, but then I ended up embarrassing myself with the bar crashing down on my chest because I wasn’t willing to admit when I had reached my limit.
We get into trouble when we try to take on more tasks than we are able to handle, especially when our motivation is to keep up with the people around us. You know what I’m talking about. You know people, or you see people online, and they keep adding more and more responsibilities to their “to do” list. It seems like they can do eighteen things at one time without breaking a sweat. But when you try to match their pace and productivity, you find yourself exhausted and discouraged.
The goal for us as believers should be to live a life that is obedient and surrendered to our heavenly Father, not to compare our lives with others. And we can trust that whatever God is leading us to do, He will give us the strength, the energy, the time, and the focus to do it.
So if you find yourself caught in a comparison trap, if you’re struggling with staying in your lane because you’re too focused on someone else’s life, begin praying and ask the Lord to help you keep your eyes on Him. His will is the goal. May we all remember that as we walk through this day and the days to come.
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