Stolen Blessings

Galatians 6:4-5 says, “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.”

Do you ever feel like someone has stollen your blessing? In Genesis, Isaac called to his son Esau. He asked Esau to go out, hunt game, prepare savory food for him, and he will give Esau the Lord’s blessing before Isaac died from old age. Rebekah heard Isaac tell his oldest son this, but she loved the youngest son and wanted him to get the blessing. She told her younger son to go to the barn and kill two goats and she would make savory food for her husband. She wanted Jacob, the younger son, to pretend to be Esau so he could get the blessing. Jacob was hesitant but his mom told him to obey. Jacob went in and received the blessing that Esau should have gotten as the oldest. When Esau came back from hunting his father found out what had happened, and was so angry. Isaac was upset at what he had done and Esau was upset too. Esau begged his dad to give him a blessing too. However, he had already given the blessing to Jacob, he could not take it away. What was done, was done.

Have you ever felt like Esau? Have you ever felt like someone else has stolen your blessing? Have you ever been in a situation where you were up for a promotion at work and did not get it and yet it seems like everyone around you is getting promoted? Have you noticed that when you are wanting to have a baby, it seems like everyone around you is getting pregnant? Sometimes it can feel so unfair. It can seem like they got your blessings. It makes us question why some things happen to some people and don’t seem to happen to others.

We live in an age of social media. Most people are posting photos of everything that is going on in their lives. Well, it seems like they are posting everything. A lot of times they are just posting the good things that are going on. This can be very misleading and can paint a completely different picture than what their life is really like. We do not often see people posting about how they got in a fight with their husband last night or if they are struggling to pay the bills. Also, we do not see how their children are skipping school, fighting amongst siblings, or struggling in some way.

What is going through your mind as you are scrolling through social media? In 2020 the average internet user spent 2 hours and 24 minutes a day on social networking sites. It would be great if while spending all this time on social media we were reaching out and connecting with our loved ones and our friends. If we were writing back and forth and catching up, maybe even doing video calls with them, then it would be better. However, this is not the experience most people I know describe. Some people just scroll through everyone else’s pages and think that those people have it so much more together than they do. They wonder how that mom of four kids can be out and about doing so much with her kids and they are struggling to work and put food on the table with one child.

I know a lot of people that struggle with social media because they are always comparing what they have to what other people have. When we see a photo of a woman that just woke up in the morning having breakfast and looking perfect, we wonder how she woke up looking so good. Yet, we have no idea if she just casually snapped a photo while eating her breakfast or if she spent 40 minutes in the bathroom getting ready for that photo, then took 20 photos to get it perfect and then posted it. We don’t know, and it doesn’t really matter either way. We don’t need to compare our life to other people’s lives.

Everyone in this world is struggling with something. I do not believe there is anyone that is just skating through life without a care in the world. Some people may seem to have it all together, but they have struggles. Even people who seem to have the perfect life, struggle with something. Sometimes they struggle with the very thing you admire about them. You may think that they are so good at organizing things and yet they may be stressed out because they are so busy organizing things.

Galatians 6:4-5 says, “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.” God does not want us to compare ourselves to others. We are all on our own journey and when someone else has something good going for them it would be great if we were able to celebrate with them. Their success takes nothing away from you. They are not stealing your blessing. God has blessings designed for each one of us in His time not ours. If God did not open a door by helping you get that promotion than He has better plans for you. I know it is hard to wait for His timing, but it is worth it in the end.

Dear heavenly father I ask that you bless everyone listening to this episode today. We ask that you help us focus on our own work Lord Jesus. We ask that you help us keep our eyes in our own lane and not to compare ourselves to others. Lord we ask that you help us see ourselves and our lives through your eyes not ours. Lord, help us not to feel like someone else’s success is our lost. Help us to see that you have special blessings for each one of us and that someone else’s success takes nothing away from us. Lord, you are amazing and we are so very thankful for all you have given to each one of us. We love you Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen.