I was having a "moment" in church today; one of those moments where I feel like I'm failing in at least one major area of my life. Let's be honest, we probably all have them. Let's be equally honest, we're probably not failing; we're probably actually succeeding so much that the Enemy wants us to believe we're failing.
I digress. That happens a lot.
So, I'm having a bit of a pity party. I mean, that's what you do when you feel like you're failing, right? In the midst of this, I asked God, "What's wrong with me?!" Yeah, I can be a little dramatic with God. We're friends: He can handle my drama. Obviously you should imagine what I said in the most dramatic girl voice possible. Then, in the kindest, softest, sweetest voice you can imagine, He said, "Quit asking Me what's wrong with you and start asking what's RIGHT with you."
Whoa. Game changer.
My natural instinct is to want to be perfect. Well, at least to my own standards of perfection. I don't have my dishes done all of the time nor do I floss. These things don't bother me. But in some places, I want to be perfect. I want to love people perfectly (yes, you can laugh). I want to respond perfectly. I want to be a perfect small group leader. I want to be the perfect friend. So when I'm not perfect (which is ALWAYS), I want to know how I can be perfect. Taking a meal to a family who just had a baby? I want it to be their most favorite meal, nutritionally balanced, and be cooked to perfection. Oh, I was 20 minutes late. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!?! Did you see that? What that family saw was that I took the time to sign up, I made a meal I thought they would like, made an attempt at it being nutritious, probably researched to think about what they would like, and delivered it. They probably really didn't care that it was 20 minutes late. I don't think I'd care if a free, hot, home-cooked meal was delivered to my door 20 minutes late.
My point is that I, along with so many others, miss the many good parts of myself because I spend a disproportionate amount of time gazing at the imperfections. Yes, we want to be more like Jesus. No, staring at imperfections does NOT make us look more like Jesus. Staring at JESUS makes us look more like Jesus.
This evening, I was having another pity party. I asked God what was wrong with me. He gently reminded me the question I needed to ask. Shockingly enough, He had a whole different outlook on the situation. When I asked that question it caused me to stare at Him. It was a game changer.
So, I encourage you to do the same. I even more so encourage you to ask God what's right with you when you AREN'T having a pity party. Go ahead, I bet it will blow your mind away. You are fantastic.
I digress. That happens a lot.
So, I'm having a bit of a pity party. I mean, that's what you do when you feel like you're failing, right? In the midst of this, I asked God, "What's wrong with me?!" Yeah, I can be a little dramatic with God. We're friends: He can handle my drama. Obviously you should imagine what I said in the most dramatic girl voice possible. Then, in the kindest, softest, sweetest voice you can imagine, He said, "Quit asking Me what's wrong with you and start asking what's RIGHT with you."
Whoa. Game changer.
My natural instinct is to want to be perfect. Well, at least to my own standards of perfection. I don't have my dishes done all of the time nor do I floss. These things don't bother me. But in some places, I want to be perfect. I want to love people perfectly (yes, you can laugh). I want to respond perfectly. I want to be a perfect small group leader. I want to be the perfect friend. So when I'm not perfect (which is ALWAYS), I want to know how I can be perfect. Taking a meal to a family who just had a baby? I want it to be their most favorite meal, nutritionally balanced, and be cooked to perfection. Oh, I was 20 minutes late. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!?! Did you see that? What that family saw was that I took the time to sign up, I made a meal I thought they would like, made an attempt at it being nutritious, probably researched to think about what they would like, and delivered it. They probably really didn't care that it was 20 minutes late. I don't think I'd care if a free, hot, home-cooked meal was delivered to my door 20 minutes late.
My point is that I, along with so many others, miss the many good parts of myself because I spend a disproportionate amount of time gazing at the imperfections. Yes, we want to be more like Jesus. No, staring at imperfections does NOT make us look more like Jesus. Staring at JESUS makes us look more like Jesus.
This evening, I was having another pity party. I asked God what was wrong with me. He gently reminded me the question I needed to ask. Shockingly enough, He had a whole different outlook on the situation. When I asked that question it caused me to stare at Him. It was a game changer.
So, I encourage you to do the same. I even more so encourage you to ask God what's right with you when you AREN'T having a pity party. Go ahead, I bet it will blow your mind away. You are fantastic.
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