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Day 5: I do not need to be perfect. I am already perfect in Christ.

Prayer: God, help me remember that I don’t need to be perfect to be valuable and secure. My security and value are in you. Amen.

Reading:

“Mom, Mom, watch me!” As kids, we loved it when our parents would watch us as we showed off our gifts and talents. It felt so good to hear words like: “I’m so proud of you”; “You are so smart”; “You are so athletic”; or “You look so pretty/handsome.” 

But what happens when we stop getting this praise? We all strive to do things well and not make mistakes, especially mistakes others can see. We want to “appear” to have it all together. Look no further than social media to see wonderful pictures with pretty filters to show a “perfect” life. However, that desire to appear to be perfect can be exhausting.

The desire to look perfect is driven by our need to feel valuable and secure. But, ultimately, our value and security come from God. We don’t have to earn them and we don’t have to be perfect to receive them. As the apostle Paul wrote:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. (Ephesians 2:8)

When we appear to be perfect and have it all together, it gives us a false sense of security and value. The truth is that you don’t have to have it all together to be valuable and secure in God’s eyes. He loves you because you are his child. You don’t have to do anything to earn his love.

Jesus is the only perfect person ever to be on the earth. If we’re not careful, we can find ourselves working hard to be something that’s not attainable. We can never be good enough. 

Thank you, God, for this truth: I do not need to be perfect. I am already perfect in Christ.

We can’t be perfect, but we do have a perfect heavenly Father. He loves us despite our flaws and mistakes. He knows we are not capable of being perfect.

It can be scary and painful to admit that we don’t have it all together. It may cause us to feel insecure or less valuable, but the truth is:

Even though it may seem like others are perfect, only Jesus is.

I don’t have to earn God’s love; he loves me just for me.

God’s power is made perfect in my weakness.

Reflection:

In what areas of my life do I struggle most with perfectionism? What scares me about other people seeing my flaws?