Tag Archive | encouragement

Give Up Perfectionism

Sep13

perfect-erasersWhether you are an employee who wishes to do a good job for your employer, a housewife who takes care of the kids and household, or a student who tries to study really hard for those good grades…everyone wants to be loved and do a good job. They want to be recognized for their hard work and dedication. There’s nothing wrong with striving to do a good job BUT what happens when all that striving bogs you down and you end up making mistakes?

That’s when you can become guilt-ridden, frustrated and upset…which just increases stress and worry. Then the stress and worry can become illness which in turn begins a cycle of defeat. And on and on and on.

It is so important to realize that none of us are perfect! Everyone has things about themselves that they would like to change. Nobody has it all together, no matter how hard they try. If you constantly strive for perfection, you will end up worse off than if you would had just taken a step back, breathe and then move forward. We all want to do the best job we can, in all situations. However, the stress and worry that’s caused by perfectionism is not healthy and will create such confusion in your life, you’ll begin a downward spiral that is quite difficult to overcome.

“But God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” (1 Corinthians 14:33)

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Stop beating yourself up! Stop holding onto your mistakes or failures AND…Let it go. You can not control what happens from those mistakes. However, you can release the mistakes, apologize for the mistakes and let the spirit who lives within you control the outcome. God has given us a fresh start everyday and he still has an amazing plan for your life. Don’t miss out on His goodness because you keep trying to control everything by being perfect. Perfection fails but God does not.

“And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them all.” (Matthew 15:30) 

So today, let go of your failures and pain. Let go of your stress and worry. Let go of your burdens. Lay it all at Jesus’ feet and rest in the one and only perfection…Jesus! He loves you right now. He wants to heal you so you can experience the abundant life He has in store for you. Let it all go and see the amazing things He will do!

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Ever Feel Like An Outcast

Sep6

Have you ever felt different from everyone else? Feeling like an outcast or you simply didn’t feel like you fit in with the crowd? Well, I sure have. There have been many times that I didn’t fit in or I felt rejected in some way. It tends to make you wonder, “What’s wrong with me?” Why do I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb?

Oh Yes You Are

Guess what? We are blessed and meant to be different:

“If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.” (John 16:19)

The good news in Galatians 1:15 says: “But when He, Who had chosen and set me apart before I was born and had called me by His grace (His undeserved favor and blessing), saw fit and was pleased.”

We were created and chosen by God, Himself. So, STOP TRYING TO FIT IN. You don’t have to feel different or rejected just because the world may see you this way. You can simply be grateful that you are unique and special because you belong to the Creator of the Universe.

You don’t need to go searching for peace, love or happiness. You don’t need to feel lost, hurt, depressed, sad or alone. God’s presence surrounds you at all times! You are valued and loved right now, this very minute! You don’t have to change because you are more than enough just the way you are. YOU ARE A CHILD OF THE MOST HIGH GOD, HE LOVES YOU RIGHT NOW AND IS PLEASED WITH YOU!

SHOUT…I AM SPECIAL, UNIQUE, TALENTED, LOVED AND ACCEPTED!

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Why don’t you take a moment to thank Him.

Say:  Lord, Thank you for accepting me into your family, just as I am. I’m grateful that you love me and that your amazing presence surrounds me. Thank you for making me special and unique with a very bright future. Thank you for your love, guidance, provisions, guidance, and protection. You are the reason that I can accept and love who I am right now. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen!

 

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Setup NOT Setback

Aug30

Broken PiecesOne of the greatest stories ever told in the Bible is about the young man, Joseph. God gave him a dream at a very young age. However, he wasn’t given the “how” or “when” of the dream.

Joseph’s life was a whirlwind of events. He was his father’s favorite son, which unfortunately, lead to his brothers’ jealousy. I’m sure Joseph didn’t realize that this jealousy would lead him to being thrown into a pit, sold into slavery by his own brothers, and being thrown into jail for something he didn’t commit.

Think what must have ran through his mind. He must have wondered about “why” bad things keep happening to him. Why did his brothers do this? Why would God allow this? What happened to the dream?

Here he was a young man that received an incredible dream from God Himself. You can only imagine his excitement. The Bible even tells us that he was so excited, he shared the dream with his family. Even though Joseph was excited, his family…especially his brothers were not enthused about it.

Best yet to comeJoseph found himself going through terrible things in his life. The more he tried, the worse things became. I’m sure he had no idea that he would hit every brick wall imaginable just for doing what was right.

So, what was his response to all the “so called” setbacks? He trusted God. No matter how bad things got or how many setbacks he encountered, he trusted God. As Joseph said in Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.“

Joseph never could have imagined that he was going to be one of the most powerful men of his time. He had no idea that he would end up saving so many lives; including his own family. The very brothers that sold him into slavery.

Yet through it all, Joseph remained faithful to God. There is so much we can learn from his story. No matter what adversity you encounter, no matter how bleak your circumstances look right now…know that God is setting you up for something amazing.

Just like Joseph, we need to stay focused on God who promises that all things will turn out in our favor. We will be victorious and successful against all the odds. It doesn’t matter what is happening in our lives right now. It doesn’t matter if we can’t see a way out of our situation.

We might not know the “how” or “when”; but we can be absolutely certain that our FUTURE IS GOING TO BE BETTER THAN WE COULD EVER DREAMED! GOD PROMISES IT AND IT WILL BE SO!

SIDE NOTE:

From time to time, I share song links to help you stay motivated through difficult times. Here is another wonderful tune that I hope helps you stand strong when everything seems to be going haywire. It is from the Fireproof movie called “While I’m Waiting”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3b2jw1rjBc

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The Fiery Darts

Aug15

23_grace-temptationWhen the Bible tells us “Emmanuel is with us” (Matthew 1:23), then we can rest assure that no matter where we go, no matter what comes against us, no matter what circumstances happen…we have Almighty God with us during all the good and bad times. God is our supply! He has provided us with wisdom, understanding, redemption, deliverance, salvation, forgiveness, healing, and prosperity. So, if God has provided everything for us, why do we need to put the full armor of God on?

Simply put…we have a very cunning adversary who knows how to corrupt, deceive and steal our joy. The devil and the spiritual warfare that rages against believers can turn our world upside down. We may not even realize what is happening because evil and deception come in many forms. Let’s face it…the devil is really good at using those closest to us for his evil purposes. However, our war isn’t against human enemies; it’s a full out assault against the rulers, powers, and the world forces of darkness and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

The full armor of God has been given to each of us so that we can stand against the devil’s schemes and satan’s forces. (Ephesians 6:11) We cannot defeat satan and the dark spiritual forces with any natural weapons. The Christian armor is made to be worn daily. While you grow, mature and finish your course for the Lord, the devil and his schemers will continue to hone in on you and will do everything they can to stop your progress. So what does the full armor of God mean?

The Full Armorarmor_of_god of God

Ephesians 6:13-18: “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14: Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15: and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16: in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.… 17: And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God . 18: With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”

God has supplied us with the armor to defeat all the attacks but we must put it on! We need to dive into His Word daily to know the truth, understand the Good News of His Gospel, to build our faith and know who we are through Christ. With His spiritual protection and authority, there is nothing that can defect us! Christ already gave us the VICTORY!

So the next time a fiery dart of satan and his cronies come against you…use your power and authority of God’s Word to crush and squash the evil desires and thoughts as they rise up within you. A well understood and rightly applied Word of God destroys any menacing adversary!

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SHOUT OUT LOUD…

I am a Child of the Most High God. Today and every day, God is with me! It is through His love, His amazing grace, His truth, His salvation, His forgiveness, His healing, His understanding, His strength, and His Word that I am and will be victorious over all darkness. With God for me no one can possibly stand against me!

Hallelujah, Give Praise to the Lord!

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