Being the Best Version of Me
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 3:20)
Throughout my journey, I have learned many people’s stories. Many have shared with me about their fears and insecurities, and I have walked through many of my own. One thing I have heard over and over, and that I have experienced personally, is a general sense of uneasiness caused by this one question: Am I enough?
Am I pretty enough?
Am I smart enough?
Am I talented enough?
Am I good enough?
Do I do enough?
Do I have enough?
Do I serve enough?
Do I do enough for God?
You get it. I find that when I am battling with perfectionism and performance-based anxiety this question is at the core. I wonder am I really measuring up to the women that God created me to be? Does he want more from me than what I am giving? This kind of thinking results in an enormous pressure to get things “right.” To do more. To be more. To start checking things off the list, in order to make sure that nothing is falling through the cracks. This also leads me into comparing myself to others and a sense that no matter what I do, I’m still falling short of the mark. It becomes more about what I am doing for God and less about my relationship and my connection with God.
Recently, I read a devotional written by Lysa Terkeurst, titled “God Made You to be You,” from her book You’re Going to Make It. Lysa writes, “The Lord does not intend for you to feel the impossible pressure to be someone you’re not…Before this day takes off, breathe in His promises for you. Shake off the anxiety. And fulfill God’s assignments to help others the way He’s wired you with assurance.” She points out this simple yet profound truth, God doesn’t want us to be anything but us. We can get off the hamster wheel of performance and striving and embrace who he created us to be. Instead of trying to do more, more, more and check more things off the list, we can lean closer to his heart and hear only what He is asking of us. Then, we can rest in connection with him, following His voice and His voice alone. We can know that He will use us, in accordance with the way He has designed us. And it will be enough.
As Lysa writes, “I can inhale his approval of me. I can exhale the fear, nerves, and pressure. I can embrace the steady confidence of being exactly who He has made me to be.”
Where have you sacrificed connection with Father God to chase down approval and perfection? Today, realize that you’ve had His approval all along. Rest in His heart for you and know today, and every day, that you who He created you to be is enough.
