Faith With A Plan! Part Three
Do you often feel that everyone else seems to be doing well in their relationship with God? Their public prayers seem deep. Their Bible knowledge is beyond yours. And they just seem to have it all together. When we start looking around, sometimes we often start to feel like we are “behind” or will never be at that “same level” in our faith. This week we will finish up the series of “Faith With A Plan,” by seeing how our faith is a journey, not a sudden arrival at the destination. So if you want to review before reading on, then click here for the other two parts in this series (PART ONE and PART TWO).
Step Three: Progress, Not Perfection
Bible Verse: Philippians 3:12-14 - “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul one of the great apostles wrote the book of Philippians, and in the verse above, we see how even he wasn’t perfect. Sometimes in life, we like to play the comparison game. We might not even realize we are doing it, but we start to look around and compare ourselves with those around us. I have learned that when this starts you will only end up unhappy and feeling bad about yourself. This comparison happens everywhere, and the Church is also included in this. We often don’t talk about the comparisons that happen at the Church building, but comparing our faith to others definitely does happen. And that is one of our faith downfalls. When we compare our faith to others, we will always find some better at Bible study. Someone better at public prayers. Someone that is better at talking to visitors. Or someone that is better at serving others. We will never end up feeling good about ourselves when we play into this comparison trap, that the devil wants us to play. The devil wants us to be upset about our faith, he wants us to feel inadequate, and thus leaving us not working on our relationship at all. And when we fall into that trap, then the devil has won against us. Comparison is the devils specialty in the Church.
So like the verse about, we shouldn’t look at our faith as something that could ever be perfect, it is a constant journey. No age, young or old, will ever be excluded from needing to work for God, others, and the Church. We are not called to be perfect for God, but we ARE called to be workers in the vineyard. We can’t be working on our faith if we are comparing ourselves to others. And we can’t be working if we are not reflecting on our faith, and making plans to improve (we saw these steps in the other articles in this series). So we must be ever working on our faith, and improving our faith, so we won’t let the devil win. If we give into the busyness of life or the comparisons of life, then the devil has won. Don’t let the Devil win. We don’t have to always succeed in our plans and goals for our faith, BUT we must be ever working. We can’t take a break, we must always be working so the devil won’t have the upper hand with our relationship with God. It’s all about progress, not perfection!
Ideas for Progress, Not Perfection:
Stop and give thanks for God for where you HAVE succeeded. We might not always get it right, but we have improved.
Make a list of the things we have been improving on with our faith. Did we get out of our comfort zones this week and talk to more people at church this week? Write it down. Even the small things can add up.
Be humble enough to see that you have let yourself become busy, and start praying for your heart to not stray from God.
Evaluate if there are anythings in the world stealing away your time for God. Think about eliminating them to make more room for God. Or redirecting them to be centered around prayer (example: sewing while praying over your congregation).
When you find yourself comparing your faith to others, stop and replace that with things your faith IS doing good with (example: are you consistent in your Bible study? Are you a good encourager? Are you good at praying for the prayer requests at your congregation).
Start journaling through your spiritual journey. List the goals you have. then track which ones you are good at and which ones you are bad at. If you want a premade journal for this, my husband and I have one available on our website already (see the journal HERE to request a copy)
Give yourself grace. Our faith is a lifelong journey, not a sudden destination that we can arrive at.
Fall in love with God! The more we learn about God, the more it will overflow into the rest of our lives. Love Him, and you will want to be closer!
Conclusion:
Bible Verse: Proverbs 3:5-6 - “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
So, ladies, don’t let the devil win. Take action TODAY!!! Work on deepening your relationship with God today! He will make our paths straight towards Heaven, but we have to make sure that we don’t stray while on the journey there. BE a worker! BE humble! BE ever growing in your faith with God!
About the Author: My name is Katie, and I’m a Church of Christ Preacher’s wife in Kentucky. I am also a proud homeschool mom to two brilliant boys. I love to craft, and make and bind my own notebooks. I also make a weekly podcast show called “Just Bible No Fluff",” where I skip all of fluffy extras and hop right into a short yet impactful exegetical study of the scripture. My mission and vision in life is this: “To empower women Spiritually by enhancing their skills in deep Bible study, equipping them to effectively teach the Gospel to others, and guiding them in cultivating Spiritual growth beyond the Church building.”