The Painted Front Gate
Written by Cowboy Evangelist Rev. Joseph Holmes
Produced by H C Cowboy Ministries
Scripture Focus: Galatians 6:4 (KJV) — "But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another."
Good morning everyone. God bless you all. I am feeling a little under the weather this morning, but we still have to give thanks to the Lord and trust in him. The Lord laid a heavy message on my heart that I think we all struggle with at some point in our lives maybe some more than others. One of the heaviest burdens we carry as believers is what I like to call the devils trap of comparing ourselves to other Christian families. It is so easy to look around and feel like you are failing. To our eyes, it seems like everyone else has their finances in perfectly good order, their lives under control, and absolutely no issues at all. It can feel like they have reached some sort of perfect spiritual status, while our own family is struggling.
Let me tell you, that is one of the devil’s oldest tricks.
Many of us drive down the road all the time, what do you see? You see the front gate to a house or maybe even a ranch. The sign is freshly painted, the driveway is perfectly graded, and the grass is neat. It looks flawless from the road. An we think wow how we would love to live there they must have it all together the Lord has really blessed them. But if you drive around to the back if it was a ranch where the working pens are, I guarantee you are going to find deep mud, broken equipment, and wire fences that desperately need mending. Or maybe a nice house but when you go inside everything is out of place or a mess. And a lot of times what we don’t see is there true spiritual problems they try to hid by putting up this pretty front.
People are very good at putting up a beautiful "front gate" for the world to see, especially on Sunday mornings. But brothers and sisters, there is no such thing as a perfect Christian Life, especially a care-free life on this side of Heaven. If we had it all together, Jesus would not have had to die on the cross for all of us.
There are many of us who are or have been living in a dark, miserable hole of depression and drug addiction, money problems, and bad relationships. But God right here right now today He sees all your everyday struggles just like anyone else. We do not have a perfect life; we just serve a perfect God who holds us together when we want to fall apart.
When you compare your life to someone else's freshly painted front gate that you just pass by or may even know, you are letting the enemy steal your joy and make you doubt God's goodness in your own home. God is not asking you to be them. He is working on you and your family at the exact pace He designed.
For everyone out there today who feels like a failure because your life looks messy. You are looking at the other things around you that seem so much nicer and then you start thinking you do not belong in the kingdom because you still have a broken life, broken fences, or a broken home in your own life. I invite you today to stop looking at other people and fix your eyes entirely on Jesus the one who died for you just the way you are. He did not come to save perfect people; He came for the broken. Surrender your messy, imperfect life to Jesus Christ right now, and let Him be the Lord of your Life and everything in it.
Let’s Pray,
Father, we come to You this morning asking You to break the heavy chain of comparison off our shoulders. Lord, forgive us for looking at others instead of keeping our eyes fixed strictly on You. Remind us that You love us exactly as we are, and that You are actively working in our lives, even in the mud and the mess. Give us a peace that passes all understanding today, and heal those who are sick or hurting. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Lets ourselves something today. Are you judging your own behind-the-scenes struggles by someone else's painted front gate?
Remember "Don't measure the value of your ranch by another man's front gate. The real work always happens in the mud."
