Living in our fast paced, performance oriented society we can easily fall prey to trying to quantify our success. We look around us to see how others are progressing in their spiritual journey. As Exodus expands, I am encouraged to see an ever-increasing number of success stories more readily available. When we are dealing with spiritual growth and maturity, we too often look to humans as our role models, rather than relying on God. Yes, we all need role models to see the reality of change more clearly, but it can short circuit our progress if we become too absorbed with comparison.

First of all, when we compare ourselves with others, we have skewed our focus. God desires for us to look to Him as our Source and Inspiration. If we are comparing ourselves with other creatures rather than asking the Creator what His Plans are for us, we have already limited ourselves tremendously. If we model ourselves after someone else, are we really trusting God to develop our own unique abilities and personalities? What happens if our would be role model lets us down? People can be devastated by personal shortcomings of others if they place them in too high esteem.

When we compare ourselves with someone else we perceive as more successful than ourselves, we may be setting up false, unrealistic expectations for ourselves. We often have no understanding of how long a person may have struggled with discouragement and failure before arrival at this phase of life. Joseph went through years of hard times before God elevated him to the place of prominence as Pharaoh's right hand man. When we compare ourselves with others, we may be opening the door to envy and/or idolatry. God deals with each of us as individuals, and has His perfect plan tailored for us individually. He knows the right timing for good seeds to take root. He can also choose to bless us not because of something we have done of special merit, but just because He desires to bless us.

There is also danger when we assess ourselves to be more spiritually mature/successful than others. Pride goes before a fall, and all of us must guard against that. Pride hinders us in our sensitivity to further growth and alienates us from others. Any time we focus on the sufficiency of our own abilities and talents above humbly acknowledging ourselves to be vessels for God's use, we have opened ourselves up to Satan's attacks. God is the one who sustains and brings to fruition, not men. He will achieve His Purposes as He chooses, so we need to be careful not to take undue credit for the mighty things He may do through us.

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges faces us when we seem to be in a holding pattern, when nothing really good or really bad seems to be happening. I am reminded of the heroine Much Afraid in Hannah Hunnard's book HIND'S FEET IN HIGH PLACES. She is making her spiritual pilgrimage to the High Places to be with the Good Shepherd, and for part of her journey travels through heavy fog. She can see nothing around her, neither behind her nor ahead of her. Even though she has already overcome many obstacles, this is an especially difficult phase of her journey. Isn't this the same with many of us? We look around to see God at work in positive or negative ways in other people's lives, but nothing seems to be happening in our own lives. These are the times when it would be particularly helpful for us to be still and know that He is God. God neither slumbers nor sleeps, so by faith we can assume that He is accomplishing something even when we see no immediately tangible results. There is a season for sowing, a season for watering, and a season for harvesting; therefore, we must trust that God will achieve His purposes in us and through us. I have a hypothesis that when we get to heaven we may discover that the richest times for nurturing our character growth very probably took place during our seemingly fallow times.

In our performance driven society we often compare our accomplishment relative to the number of tasks we have done well. For me the historical fact that Jesus Christ fulfilled His Heavenly Father's plan in the span of three short years of earthly ministry is truly astounding. Our society is always looking for more time saving devices so that we have more time to do more things. Early on in ministry I remember very clearly a teaching by Ed Hurst (formerly with OUTPOST in the early years) that the need was not the call. So many of us that are so performance oriented can tremendously clutter our lives by trying to meet every need that presents itself. It shows maturity that we do not have to compulsively rush around trying to everything. It also requires our attentiveness to listening to God's directives for the goals in our lives. God may want us to focus on fewer endeavors and to do those really well. In all things we need to work heartily as unto the Lord.

If we are going to compare ourselves with someone. I would suggest we consider Jesus Christ as our model. We have only vignettes of his life and ministry in the Gospels, yet we see many aspects of His being fully man/fully God. We see His patience when His followers did not immediately comprehend the import of his teachings, His delight in the exuberance and innocence of children, His compassion when he saw people suffering, etc. On another more practical level we can look at the list of the Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 to ascertain our growth in character growth on a spiritual level.

The Bible gives us numerous examples of how the people of God recall His goodness and blessings to them. The book of Psalms gives us an abundance of praise passages. I have found that in praise and thanksgiving, I prepare my heart to see God's perspective and have a better grasp of my spiritual progress. One of the most beneficial aids to my assessment of my own spiritual growth has been keeping a personal journal throughout my adult life since college days. In it I see my questions and struggles, and see how God has brought me through them. The entries give me reminders of my various stages of growth. Thus,I can see how I have grown and matured through the years.

Close friends who know us really well can also provide valuable insights concerning our growth. If we have a trusting relationship, they can speak the truth in love regarding our blind spots, as well as those difficult areas in which we may still be wounded. Words of encouragement from people we trust can provide a great impetus for further growth.

It's very comforting to me that God sees me and loves me as the unique individual that He knew before I was even in my mother's womb. He knows all my idiosyncrasies, and supplies His Grace sufficient to my needs in my particular situation. His expectations for me are based on His knowledge of my strengths and weaknesses. He knows the experiences that I need to grow more into the person He desires me to be. He is committed to complete the good work that He has begun in me, sometimes despite my own stubborn willfulness. Often in particularly difficult circumstances, I have reminded Him, "God, I'm sure glad that Your Strength is perfected in my weakness because I know I can't handle this mess. If it were up to me, I'd be checking out right now!" I've learned to be more secure in His concern for my character growth, and be less concerned about comparing myself with others.