I'm Free, Not Perfect

Do you struggle with being a perfectionist? Does the slightest detail being out of sorts add to the number of gray hairs on your head? This is a battle I fight in my head daily.  I want things to be right.  I want things to line up just right.  Have I mentioned before that I struggle a bit with control issues? That tends to lend itself to a bit of perfectionism.

See, I all too often set myself up for the disappointment of falling short of perfection.  It's a vicious cycle.  I've gotten better over the years, but I still have a ways to go.

Yesterday at church we continued with a series called Running With the Giants.  It's been a great series, but yesterday's was the best by far, at least for me.  (If you'd like to watch that message...and you should...click here.)  The message was based on the life of David.  One statement came out of that message that spoke to the core of my perfectionist heart.  "God's power inside of me gives me the power to live in freedom.  Not perfection."  Wow.  That hit me like a ton of bricks.

Living in the freedom that my life in Christ brings, doesn't mean that things in my life have to be perfect.  That doesn't mean I have to be (or pretend to be) perfect.  It actually means I can live in complete freedom from the need for perfection.  

As that concept made it's way through my brain, I began to feel such freedom. God doesn't call me to be perfect.  He doesn't expect me to have it all together all the time.  All He wants me to do is walk in the freedom he gives me.  The freedom that allows grace for my shortcomings.  The freedom that helps me to overcome my shortcomings.  The freedom that allows me to be less than perfect.

Today, let go of the need for perfection and walk in freedom!  He's got it under control.  And it's His way that's perfect.