“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55: 8-9
Do you ever think that the expectations you have for yourself are the expectations our Father has for you? Sometimes we can approach life trying to attain impossible standards, striving for perfection and not realizing that our Father has not called us to perfection as the world sees it.
One thing that I have learned throughout the years is that His ways and thoughts are definitely higher than ours. He loves you and He will never expect anything of you that you can not attain or accomplish. So if you are feeling crushed in spirit, feeling angry or thinking you are a failure; I hope you can reexamine the expectations you have of self and replace them with the expectations our mighty Father has of you. In return, as you embark on that journey, you will gain peace, contentment and hopeful expectation for the future He has for you.
If you think or believe you have failed in a season of your life, whether it be certain goals or a career, remember, His timing is perfect. His blessings are better and His will for you is better than you can understand or imagine. He knows your abilities and your gifts, He blessed you with them. My question for you is, do you know your abilities? Are you aware of the gifts He has given you?
So many of us and our youth have this expectation, drive and desire to be “perfect”. We want the perfect body, the perfect grades, the perfect job, the perfect spouse, the perfect outcomes, just to name a few. We compare ourselves to those that appear perfect, have the perfect things and perfect relationships.
Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but also glad to give you relief and hope; the only existence of perfection is Jesus Christ. Nobody is perfect other than our Savior Jesus. We all have our flaws and God wants to mold us and shape us to be flawless in HIS eyes, not in the eyes of the world.
Jesus said in Mathew 5:46, "You are to be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Thankfully, the "perfect" Jesus was talking about is having the perfect relationship with our Father by living a righteous life. The only way we can do that is accepting Jesus, the Savior, into our heart. The Savior that lived a perfect life and can abide in you if you allow Him to. Is righteousness perfection? No. It's being in right standing with our Father. Remember, He looks at the intentions of our hearts.
We may falter, we may slip, what matters is that we do not stay down. The psalmist said, “When he falls, he will not be hurled down, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.” (Psalm 37:24 NASB).
How awesome is that, God is the One who holds our hand, preventing us from being hurled down. He knows our past, present and future. What relief to know that our omnipresent God has, is and will be there. He is in our successes, joys, small and great decisions. He is also there with us in our struggles, mistakes and troubled times. Just don’t let go of HIS hand, because HE won’t let go of yours.
Much Grace and Peace,
Monica