November 3rd, 2025
by Pastor Luke
by Pastor Luke
The Freedom Found in Your God-Given Assignment
There's something deeply unsettling about living someone else's life. Yet if we're honest, many of us wake up each morning striving to become someone we were never meant to be. We scroll through carefully curated feeds, measuring our worth against filtered snapshots of success. We compare our families, our careers, our faith journeys against those around us, and we come up wanting.
But what if the very act of comparison is stealing the life God intended for us?
The Danger of Looking Sideways
The early Christians in Corinth faced a similar struggle. Living in a cosmopolitan city known for its wealth and moral compromise, these believers found themselves caught between two worlds. They were Christians *in* Corinth but were dangerously close to becoming Christians *of* Corinth—shaped more by their culture than by Christ.
Their problem wasn't just worldliness. It was comparison. Some Jewish Christians wondered if they should remove the mark of circumcision to fit in better. Gentile believers considered getting circumcised to seem more spiritual like their Jewish brothers. Everyone was looking sideways, measuring themselves against each other, seeking status through external markers.
The apostle Paul's response was direct: "Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts" (1 Corinthians 7:19).
In other words, stop obsessing over what doesn't matter. The external measures we use to gauge our spiritual status mean absolutely nothing to God. What matters is obedience to His Word and faithfulness to the unique calling He's placed on your life.
You Have an Assignment
Here's a truth that should stop us in our tracks: God has given each of us a specific assignment. Not a generic, one-size-fits-all purpose, but a unique calling designed specifically for you.
First Corinthians 7:17 reminds us: "Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them."
This isn't merely about vocation, though it may include that. It's about the totality of your life with God—how He leads you, where He places you, what He stirs in your heart. While the Church has a corporate mission to make disciples of all nations, within that mission exists your individual calling. One body, many members. Each essential. Each unique.
The problem is that we'll never discover our assignment if we're too busy trying to live out someone else's.
The Economy of Faith
Both the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of darkness operate on the same economy: faith. When we place our confidence in God, we're investing in the kingdom of heaven. But when we're gripped by fear—fear of failure, fear of missing out, fear of not measuring up—we're actually placing our faith in the wrong kingdom.
Think about that. Anxiety isn't just an emotional state; it's a spiritual indicator that we've yielded to something other than the Holy Spirit. Our fears reveal where we're placing our trust.
What are you afraid of? That you'll never achieve what you hoped? That your life won't turn out the way you envisioned? That God's timing doesn't align with your timeline?
These fears keep us awake at night, but they also reveal a deeper issue: we're trusting more in our vision for our lives than in God's provision for His vision for our lives.
The Contentment Secret
The apostle Paul learned a profound secret that transformed how he lived: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:12-13).
Notice Paul's repeated use of "I" in this passage. He's not being egotistical; he's testifying to his personal experience with God. Paul was so intimately familiar with the Lord's faithful love that he could navigate both abundance and scarcity with equal contentment.
The secret? All things through Christ who strengthens him.
Contentment grows when we stop living someone else's life and start focusing on our own walk with God. It flourishes when we cease comparing our chapter three to someone else's chapter twenty. It deepens when we recognize that God's timing doesn't have to be convenient to be perfect.
Breaking Free from Comparison
So how do we escape the prison of comparison? Three essential steps:
Face your shadow: Get honest about what's really going on inside you. Name your fears. Identify the negative scripts from your past that are informing your present. What lies have you believed about yourself? What trauma or neglect has shaped how you see yourself today? Facing these realities is the first step toward freedom.
Face who's against you: There is a very real spiritual battle happening, and comparison is one of the enemy's favorite weapons. He uses it to distract and destroy. But remember: you have authority in Christ. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. You have both the power and the authority to resist and rebuke spirits of comparison, envy, and fear. The enemy's power is an illusion—a gun without ammunition. Resist him, and he will flee.
Face your God: When was the last time you locked yourself away with God and sought His face? Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God rewards those who *diligently* seek Him. Not casually. Not when it's convenient. Diligently. Get up early. Open the Word. Pray with intention. The assignment God has for you will only be revealed in intimate fellowship with Him.
Your Unique Assignment Awaits
You are a son or daughter of the Most High King. That's the best status you'll ever achieve. Nothing on earth compares to your identity in Christ.
God hasn't called you to be someone else. He's called you to be you—fully surrendered, fully empowered, fully engaged in the unique work He's prepared for you.
The question isn't whether God has an assignment for you. He does. The question is: will you stop comparing yourself to others long enough to discover it?
Get into that prayer closet. Open the Scriptures. Ask God to reveal His calling on your life. Nobody can tell you what it is but Him.
Your assignment is waiting. Stop looking sideways and start looking up.
stay salty. be bright.
Pastor Luke
But what if the very act of comparison is stealing the life God intended for us?
The Danger of Looking Sideways
The early Christians in Corinth faced a similar struggle. Living in a cosmopolitan city known for its wealth and moral compromise, these believers found themselves caught between two worlds. They were Christians *in* Corinth but were dangerously close to becoming Christians *of* Corinth—shaped more by their culture than by Christ.
Their problem wasn't just worldliness. It was comparison. Some Jewish Christians wondered if they should remove the mark of circumcision to fit in better. Gentile believers considered getting circumcised to seem more spiritual like their Jewish brothers. Everyone was looking sideways, measuring themselves against each other, seeking status through external markers.
The apostle Paul's response was direct: "Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts" (1 Corinthians 7:19).
In other words, stop obsessing over what doesn't matter. The external measures we use to gauge our spiritual status mean absolutely nothing to God. What matters is obedience to His Word and faithfulness to the unique calling He's placed on your life.
You Have an Assignment
Here's a truth that should stop us in our tracks: God has given each of us a specific assignment. Not a generic, one-size-fits-all purpose, but a unique calling designed specifically for you.
First Corinthians 7:17 reminds us: "Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them."
This isn't merely about vocation, though it may include that. It's about the totality of your life with God—how He leads you, where He places you, what He stirs in your heart. While the Church has a corporate mission to make disciples of all nations, within that mission exists your individual calling. One body, many members. Each essential. Each unique.
The problem is that we'll never discover our assignment if we're too busy trying to live out someone else's.
The Economy of Faith
Both the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of darkness operate on the same economy: faith. When we place our confidence in God, we're investing in the kingdom of heaven. But when we're gripped by fear—fear of failure, fear of missing out, fear of not measuring up—we're actually placing our faith in the wrong kingdom.
Think about that. Anxiety isn't just an emotional state; it's a spiritual indicator that we've yielded to something other than the Holy Spirit. Our fears reveal where we're placing our trust.
What are you afraid of? That you'll never achieve what you hoped? That your life won't turn out the way you envisioned? That God's timing doesn't align with your timeline?
These fears keep us awake at night, but they also reveal a deeper issue: we're trusting more in our vision for our lives than in God's provision for His vision for our lives.
The Contentment Secret
The apostle Paul learned a profound secret that transformed how he lived: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:12-13).
Notice Paul's repeated use of "I" in this passage. He's not being egotistical; he's testifying to his personal experience with God. Paul was so intimately familiar with the Lord's faithful love that he could navigate both abundance and scarcity with equal contentment.
The secret? All things through Christ who strengthens him.
Contentment grows when we stop living someone else's life and start focusing on our own walk with God. It flourishes when we cease comparing our chapter three to someone else's chapter twenty. It deepens when we recognize that God's timing doesn't have to be convenient to be perfect.
Breaking Free from Comparison
So how do we escape the prison of comparison? Three essential steps:
Face your shadow: Get honest about what's really going on inside you. Name your fears. Identify the negative scripts from your past that are informing your present. What lies have you believed about yourself? What trauma or neglect has shaped how you see yourself today? Facing these realities is the first step toward freedom.
Face who's against you: There is a very real spiritual battle happening, and comparison is one of the enemy's favorite weapons. He uses it to distract and destroy. But remember: you have authority in Christ. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. You have both the power and the authority to resist and rebuke spirits of comparison, envy, and fear. The enemy's power is an illusion—a gun without ammunition. Resist him, and he will flee.
Face your God: When was the last time you locked yourself away with God and sought His face? Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God rewards those who *diligently* seek Him. Not casually. Not when it's convenient. Diligently. Get up early. Open the Word. Pray with intention. The assignment God has for you will only be revealed in intimate fellowship with Him.
Your Unique Assignment Awaits
You are a son or daughter of the Most High King. That's the best status you'll ever achieve. Nothing on earth compares to your identity in Christ.
God hasn't called you to be someone else. He's called you to be you—fully surrendered, fully empowered, fully engaged in the unique work He's prepared for you.
The question isn't whether God has an assignment for you. He does. The question is: will you stop comparing yourself to others long enough to discover it?
Get into that prayer closet. Open the Scriptures. Ask God to reveal His calling on your life. Nobody can tell you what it is but Him.
Your assignment is waiting. Stop looking sideways and start looking up.
stay salty. be bright.
Pastor Luke
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