Walking With Jesus

"What does walking with Jesus look like?" "What does living for the glory of God, in my own life, look like?" "Does my life have to look like everyone’s around me to be worth living, to matter for eternity?"

I’ve been fighting the comparison battle in my mind lately. Somewhere deep down, I think I know that, "No, my life doesn’t need to look like everyone else’s." But when reality hits, when my mind tricks me into believing that social norms are social rules to follow, the truth gets clouded.

A question I’m just know realizing, as I write this is, “Who am I living for?” Am I living for the world, wanting to fit in, be liked, be “normal”? Or do I truly want to live every day so that my life will bring glory and attention to my Savior, Jesus Christ. Not just in certain areas of my life, but in every area, even the ones that I think I can hide. Not just when I’m in public, but in the hidden places of my heart, where I judge other people, think I’m better than them, instead of laying down my pride and loving them like Jesus would and does.

It hurts to realize, but this life is not meant to be lived for myself. It’s not about me. Jesus saved me, not so I could feel good about myself, but so that I will surrender to His leading/way of living. It’s what I truly want. But distractions come, temptations try to trap me, insecurities try to keep me from fully surrendering and letting God change me from the inside out, so that I can be a vessel of His love to the world. It’s a daily, almost minute-by-minute battle. And that’s ok. Without God's help and on this side of eternity, we’re never going to be who God wants us to be. There is grace. But there is also a surrendering on our part.

"And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me'." - Luke 9:23

Something I keep reminding myself is that, as long as I'm listening to God and obeying Him, it doesn't matter if my life looks differently than anyone's. God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. He called David to serve them as King. He called Esther to defend them as Queen. As Christians, we are all called to live for God, serve His children, and reach the lost. But it is going to look differently in each of our lives.

If God wanted our lives to look the same, I feel He would have made us all clones with all of us looking the same, acting the same, having the same personalities. But He didn't do that. He made us all unique for a reason. Sometimes, in certain seasons, I don't understand my individual purpose. But I have to choose to trust that He does have a purpose and a plan for my life. It might change day to day. But my main purpose is to bring Him glory, in how I walk with Him and how I walk alongside others in this journey of life.

I get so easily stuck in comparing myself with others. It takes away my joy and distracts me from what God is calling me to do. I don't want you to have to struggle with this either. Let's try to keep our eyes on Jesus this week, and take joy even in the smallest things that He has for us to do. Because the small things are just as important as the "big" things. Sometimes they are even more important because they build our character and build our trust in God for when those bigger things do come. Earlier this week I read Romans 12:3-8 and it was encouraging/challenging to me. Since it's multiple verses I didn't want to type it all out, and I also wondered if you individually would want to look it up and study it on your own time? :) It has to do with God giving us each different gifts/ways we can serve others, because we all have our part in the kingdom of God.

Thanks so much for reading this week's post! I hope you have a blessed day as we learn to walk more closely with Jesus.