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Issue link: http://magazine.kcm.org/i/1536110
B V O V : 1 5 by Jeremy Pearsons My fi rst job in full-time ministry was at Eagle Mountain International Church in Fort Worth, Texas, where my parents pastor. I was in my early 20s, and enthusiastic about my position as the youth pastor. Motivated by the desire to reach young people with the gospel and help them learn to walk by faith, I would attend ministry and church growth conferences and come back to my parents, full of ideas of the things I thought we should be doing. I was convinced that if we just did what those other churches were doing, then those ideas would work for us just like they did for them. I came to realize, however, that although my intentions were good, I'd fallen into the trap of comparison. I spent a lot of time, energy and resources doing things I wasn't meant to do. Instead of following the Lord's leading for the group He'd called me to pastor, I was looking at everyone else, comparing our ministry to theirs, and believing that we were coming up short. Now, after more than 20 years in ministry, I see how dangerous it is to compare ourselves with others. Also, how easy it is to spend all Learn that God is your Source. After I found out that God was my source it wasn't near as hard. Whatever work I did, I knew that it was a tool for me to use that my Source had supplied. Work. You will fi nd out that work isn't hard. If you are interested in what you are doing, you will do more of it than anybody else because you've got the vision. Get that vision and go after it. It will come true. It will grow for you as fast as you can handle it. Keep the vision in your heart. That's so important! Keep tithing. Keep casting your bread upon the water. Don't try doing it. It's already been proven. Just do it and keep on doing it. As you keep casting it upon the water, it will keep coming back to you. Keep that positive confession of God's Word going. God's Word is true and it will work for you all the time. Keep talking it. It will come to pass in your life. To the natural eye, the world situation looks bad. When something looks like it's a problem, when it looks like there is no way out, when they are going to come and take everything you've got, then is the time to go sit down and talk with the Lord. He'll always be fair with you. There is no one between you and God. Just sit down and talk with Him. Tell Him what you need, roll the care of it over on Him, stop worrying about it, and He will take care of you. Think about your Source, not the problem! God will provide you a job when there is no job. He will provide you with income when there seems there is no possible way, in the natural, to get income. God will provide for you regardless of the world situation. Just keep your eyes on Him. He will never let you down. (A.W. Copeland went home to be with the Lord June 26, 2000.) Escaping the Comparison Pit None of us is called to duplicate another's call, and yet we all too often tend to get our eyes on what others are doing.