We, too often, compare what we have, financially and otherwise, to what others have. The reality is that God is our Sole Provider, our Sole Source of everything. God takes care of flowers and animals to make sure they have everything they need to be born, to grow, and to survive. We are his kids, and he is infinitely more interested in us than plants and animals. He will make sure we have everything we actually need in order to to thrive.
Our idea of what it looks like for ourselves to thrive gets distorted when we compare ourselves and what we have to others and what they have, especially when those others seem to have more of what we want than we have. If we live within the parameters of the level of provision God has decided is right and good for us, we live in freedom and liberty regardless of what that level is. However, if we look at someone else, wanting what they have, wanting their level of life for our own and then make decisions to go beyond our means to obtain things that we want but don’t already have, things that don’t fit into the level of life God has carved out for us, then we create stress in our lives by trying to obtain and maintain a level of living God has not designed for us. At that point, we feel the stress and strain that comes from trying to make everything happen on our own all while trying to drag God along with our plans instead of getting on board with him and moving at his pace, the pace he designed specifically for our lives.
It requires radical trust and complete dependence, but let’s live at the pace and level of life Jesus designed us for and walk in the freedom and satisfaction of his constant provision.