REJOICE

“Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4

Almost every day, sooner or later, I find out that I am not as good as I thought I was going to be. I fall short of my expectations for myself frequently. Maybe I was not as productive as I would like to have been. Maybe I was not as kind to the people around me as I wanted to be. Maybe I forgot to pray for a friend when I said I would. Maybe I selfishly talked about my own problems all day without taking a minute to ask someone else how they were doing. To put it plainly, I fall short. I fall short of what I “should” be, what I could be, and even what I truly want to be.

Perhaps you feel the same way sometimes?! Maybe you routinely find out that you don’t meet all of the standards you set for yourself. If that is the case, don’t be surprised. God is not surprised. No, “while we were STILL sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). His love has nothing to do with us. He loves us simply because He chooses to. Nothing we’ve done right or wrong could make Him love us more or less. He loves us as much as He can!

Also, don’t be discouraged. Do you tend to get down on yourself? I do! And that is exactly what the devil wants; he wants for us to focus more intensely on ourselves! We mope over our shortcomings as if we thought we could be perfect. And we resolve to try harder as if that will be the key to not falling short next time. For example have you ever caught yourself saying this, “Oops, I had one too many fudge-brownies today… that’s 6 miles and only vegetables to eat tomorrow.” That’s saying our worth is determined by how well we can live up to a standard. Eventually, we just put more pressure on ourselves to live up to that standard, and we feel even more worthless when we don’t.

Instead, be thankful! Be thankful for the Savior that already met all the expectations. Be thankful for the Father who adopted you and made all of His inheritance yours. Be thankful for the freedom that comes knowing that “it is finished.” Trust in His unfailing love, and let what HE says determine your worth. He says that you are precious and honored in His sight. He loves you! (Isaiah 43:4) Now, THAT is something to rejoice over!

Written by: Leah Buescher; copyright virtuousreality.com