Welcome to week two of our bible study!
May we be honest for a moment?Comparison and the pursuit of perfection plague a lot of us. Sometimes (possibly today) we battle with feeling like a failure and we just want to quit or hide. We believe the voice in our head that tells us we're not good enough. And that voice gets louder each time we fall short.
We stand in front of the bathroom mirror bone-weary from trying to be all we think we're supposed to be and from trying to "make it all happen". We look into the eyes of the broken woman who is staring back at us and we despise her.
We can't imagine such a holy God loving us because we don't even love ourselves. We feel completely unworthy, so we hide from Him.
But God says, "My faithful love does not end. My mercies are new every morning. You may not always be consistent, but I always will." (Lamentations 3:22-23)
My friend, we are worthy of His love not because of anything we have or have not done but because of what Jesus Christ did for us.
We may not be enough....but He certainly is enough.
Perfection is not a prerequisite for an intimate relationship with Jesus.
Perfect love casts out all fear. Certainly the fear of not being good enough.
We are beautiful to God. Not because we're good enough but because Jesus is.
Let's Chat
Take a moment to reflect back on your week two study handout. Both of the following questions come from the handout.
- Lacy described being afraid of doing things wrong and losing people's (and God's) approval. What difficulties does that kind of fear create in your life?
- 1 John 4:7-19: What does it mean to say that God not only loves us but that he is love? How would you explain this statement in your own words?
I grew up in an environment of constant verbal abuse. So, I spent the first 40 years of my life trying to please everybody. I was fearful that if I didn't perform in a certain way at home, at work, and at church, then nobody would love me. I soon learned that I truly was not good enough - without God's love. I thank God everyday for loving me just like I am right now. I feel that love, His grace, and His mercy everyday. I no longer feel like I have to work at being lovable. And even on the days when no one else tells me that they love me, God always does.
ReplyDeleteI wish this post had a million like buttons! Felecia Burns, you are indeed enough and you are loved! Not only by me, but by a God who is just head over hills in love with you!
DeleteWe loved hearing your video testimony of how God did a deep work in your life during the "Who Do You Think You Are?" retreat! And we love hearing how He's continuing that work. You're an amazing woman, Felecia Burns!
Deleteit is so exhausting day in and day out to work at being or feeling lovable. i'm with you: so thankful that we don't have to live like that with Christ's enormous love for us. with God always telling us He loves us, why would we care about anything else? love you fee!
DeleteI have to admit that I do strive for people's acceptance. I am not one to rock the boat or make anyone mad, because i hate for anyone to be upset at me. I am the first one to apologize if i have wronged anyone or i felt what i did or said was out of line. But God, I love that moment when you realize that pleasing people is not your job and pleasing God is. God doesn't measure His love towards us by what we can produce for Him, but by how willing we are for Him to produce something in us. It doesnt matter how I see myself anymore. In the worlds eyes i will always be over weight , average looks, and nothing really spectacular. But My God sees me a beautiful, strong, brave, and an overcomer. Only by the grace of God , have i been able to overcome the doubts and frustrations of life. I can now walk victorious no matter what the world may think, they dont know me they dont know my WHOLE story, but God does because He was the one that walked it with me , even when i didnt know He was there He was , even when I thought i was alone He was still there protecting me and guiding me. That my friend is unconditional love , and that is the love I cling to everyday of my life.
ReplyDeleteyes! He is the only One who knows the entire story. He is the only One who can come all the way in and see every bit of us. and yet, He loves us. it is overwhelming...and we don't know the half of it!
DeleteGosh, where to even start this week. The world beats us up, we have to look a certain way, act a certain way, own certain things, and keep up with the Jones'. It will tear us down constantly if we are investing in the world and not with Jesus. I am tough on myself. Am I a good mom? Why did I act that way toward my kids? Where is my patience? Do my kids realize how much I love them? Why am I not losing weight? Am I not good enough? Truth me told, we all do it. I have to catch myself at time saying things that beat myself down. But you know, it doesn't take long when in the word of God or singing his praises that all of those thoughts and ideas float away and then I feel like I have a purpose here and I'm doing my best to make him proud. Will we all mess up?! YES! But that is when he is there to pick us up and say DON'T GIVE UP, KEEP GOING! This fight will be so worth it in the end.
ReplyDeleteThe world has really beaten up on me probably for the past month. So many things that need to get done. Being pulled in all directions. Feeling guilty if you give one side of the family more attention than the other. But God has such a bigger outlook than we ever could and when the world seems to overwhelm me I just do the only thing I know to do and that is look up. I've been doing a lot of that lately and the more I look up the more I see my overwhelming life through Gods eyes. I see why He put me here or there and sometimes I did and said the right things and sometimes I didn't but God lovingly shows me my mistakes and gives me grace and mercy to change and learn from them. What an amazing God we serve!
DeleteAshley - i watched an amazing video the other day that goes right along with what you are saying. it was two best friends and they wrote down the things they say about themselves, but they had to say them out loud about each other. so imagine saying things to haley that you say about yourself: "haley, why did you act like that toward your kids?", "haley, where is your patience?" etc. it puts the things we say over ourselves in perspective for sure. we are so so so hard on ourselves. i think you said it right: it will tear us down constantly if we are investing in the world and not with Jesus.
Delete1 John 4:7-19 is a reminder to me that God loves me completely! He loves me with his whole heart and continues to love me even when I haven't always demonstrated love in the past to others the way he has shown. I'm so thankful for his forgiveness in my life, as I remember a time when I became distant from Him for about 3 years. I can't make it a single day without him and I'm so glad he loves me unconditionally! I am a daughter of the one true KING!
ReplyDeleteI am outgoing and I am a people person, but at the same time, I am also a people pleaser so I always worry if I offended someone or said something the wrong way or if someone took something I said out of context. I second guess things I've said for fear of what I may have said wrong and it causes me to fear being rejected by people and hurting feelings. But I have to remember that God loves me just the way I am, and he knows my deepest thoughts and even my worries because he created me and will guide me through each and every day.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look at my messy life growing up, the choices I made, and decisions made as a young adult, that tells me God is love and He loves me. Had it not been for His love and grace, I'd surely be lost! It's His perfect love that removes that fear I have and tells me that with Him, through Him, I AM ENOUGH! His love for me covers all my junk, all my inadequacies, all the multiple times I fail. His love is perfect!
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ReplyDeleteThere have been many times in my life when I sought approval from man or God. That was my goal...to have them all standing and applauding for whatever I did or said. That was may idea of acceptance. That meant I was good enough. I looked for approval because in all honesty I felt like I was in over my head. But seeking approval only lead me to a place of performance and anxiety. And when the applause would die, doubt would be there waiting to whisper in my ear. But when I finally began to understand that really what I needed to do was simply rest in His love and trust His voice to guide me...I started walking in more peace and power than ever before. I also learned to rest in the fact that I'm not perfect. Many times I truly am in over my head. That's why I need Jesus. I have to rely on Him to do this life I've been given. I'm so thankful God chose me. I'm grateful for the purpose He's given me here in this life. I fall on my knees in praise when I realize He's provided everything I need to fulfill my calling. His love is all I need.
ReplyDeleteEarlier this week I posted to Facebook about how every time I look on Facebook I see nothing but “perfection.” From pictures, to videos, to posts about how great and prefect everyone’s days and lives are going. I then went into detail about how my life doesn’t work out that way and I gave specifics on how. I just get tired of the world, through Facebook, commercials, billboards, advertisements, etc. telling me and selling a fake unrealistic expectation of a “perfect” life. As a result, I see everyone playing right into it putting our best foot forward to put up this image of a perfect life. I am thankful that I am at the point of my life where I realize that prefect doesn’t exist outside of Jesus. As long as I am honoring God, and making decisions that are honoring to Him, I don’t have to try to be perfect.
ReplyDeletepeople's approval. it is a funny thing. why do we have this picture in our head of people disapproving our every move. our parenting abilities. the way we talk. the way we walk. the size of our pants. the way we worship. the words that come out of our mouths. the way we keep house. anything. everything. where does this come from? i mean, do you typically judge someone if you see a pile of laundry in the background of a picture? i don't. i think, "oh thank goodness..i'm not the only one." do you judge someone regarding what they wear? i know i don't. of course my wardrobe consists of back to the future and superman tshirts, but i digress. for some reason we fear judgment, and it honestly may be valid. maybe we had a crappy mom for whom nothing was ever right. maybe we've overheard judgmental comments, so we can safely assume we are their next target. i think we live in too much fear and most of it is irrational or at least unjustified. unfortunately, it creates this monster in us who seeks perfection at all costs. who will only post good pictures with the right angle - no double chin or pile of laundry in the background. who will go to great lengths to hide their true selves for fear of vulnerability. cough cough even on this blog cough. it causes us to be too cautious with people. we long for real relationships, but when we only go knee deep with someone about our own struggles how can we expect them to do more? so i guess that is a big one - we miss out on intimacy because of our fear.
ReplyDeletehow do we combat fear? perfect love drives it out. i'm safe in Christ's love. how does that translate to personal relationships with others? i mean, they will never love me perfectly. maybe God acts kind of like home base in a game of tag. you go out and put yourself out there. be totally vulnerable. be real. you might get hurt, but God is always there continually loving us perfectly. you can call "base" and He will fill you up and cover over a multitude of sin - our own and even those against us; His perfect love consistently driving out the fear every step of the way.