In his book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, Richard Carlson wrote the following:
The need for perfection and the desire for inner tranquility conflict with each other. Rather than being content and grateful for what we have, we are focused on what’s wrong with something and our need to fix it.
I admit to being a recovering perfectionist which diminishes peace and joy in life. God has had to take drastic measures to teach me to focus on the many blessings from Him and not on my shortcomings or on the flaws all around us. The tile in our kitchen has a crack and several small chips from renters who lived in our home before we bought it. Until we replace the tile, I must choose to thank God that He has blessed us with a beautiful home and a functional kitchen, flaws and all.
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Philippians 1:6 which says, “being confident of this, He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” This helps me not to focus on my shortcomings but instead remember that it is GOD who will complete the good work He started in me. His goal is to make us like Christ. That will happen when we are in our glorified body. Meanwhile, we cooperate with God in His goal of making us like Christ by spending time with Him in His Word and prayer and then, walking by faith, applying His Word in all areas of life.
Life flees like a racecar going around a track. Instead of going around in circles trying to fix the imperfections all around us, let’s trust God to do what He has promised to do. Someday we will rejoice to see our Savior face-to-face, and then the imperfections in us and in all of life will melt away. May that day come quickly!
Beloved, now we are the children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1 John 3:2
See you next week!
