. . . He has made us accepted in the Beloved. (Eph 1:6)
Do you ever feel like you just can’t measure up to other people’s expectations of you? Are you carrying a sense of guilt because you feel you can’t please people? Maybe you’ve been under this constant pressure of having to perform and you are buckling under the weight and you long to be free from such strain. You might think you need a break . . . if you could just get away for a while . . . but you know you’ll just come back to the same old stress and situation. What can you do when you feel you don’t measure up and when you just don’t feel accepted for who you are?
The Lord wants to set you free! Yes, you can be free from those pervading inadequate feelings. And it all begins by realizing one major but basic thing. GOD LOVES YOU and He loves you UNCONDITIONALLY! He loves you just the way you are. He loved you before you were born and sent His Son to die for you. If you were the only person on earth He would of died for you. If you are God’s child, then the Father sees Christ in you and loves you not for your performance but just for you. It’s not about measuring up because you can’t ever measure up to a holy God. But God took care of that problem by sacrificing His Son on the cross and transferring His righteousness over to your account. Now you measure up in Christ. You see . . . God really loves you!
If you are rooted in God’s love then you won’t care about having to measure up to other people. Now don’t get me wrong, you’ll need to show respect and love to other people that are a part of your life and you must do your best in fulfilling your obligations and service. But after you have done your very best it is time to rest and know the Lord will take care of the rest. If others mention that it’s not enough then you need to know they evidently have not been set free from their own sense of not measuring up in life and are trying to put that off on you. So don’t take it personally (I know, it’s hard!) and realize that God maybe wants to use you to show God’s unconditional love to them so they can be set free themselves.
How wonderful to know we are accepted in the Beloved . . . that we don’t have to measure up. May the Lord help us to grow in grace (2 Pet 3:18) and be free from feelings of condemnation (Rom 8:1) and from condemning others (Mat 7:1-5). We might not be able to measure up but we sure can grow up if we understand and pursue God’s unconditional love in Christ.
Louie