Cease Striving

(A letter from Jesus, to a recovering perfectionist…)

Dear beloved,

My heart is grieved as I watch you question yourself and wonder if you are enough. As the Lover Of Your Soul I implore you, “Cease striving, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10). I discern your self-defeating thoughts from afar, and each assaulting syllable you speak, is an assault on your soul, and on My Creative Design as well.

When I knit you together in your mother’s womb, I fashioned the traits and personality you would have. I foresaw each distinction I would use to set you apart from others, in an effort to tell My redemptive story to a lost and broken world. I created you with passion, purpose, and conviction, knowing the gifts you would use to further My Kingdom. I see you wrestling with yourself, questioning every imperfect flaw. My child, your insecurities are drowning out My voice, and My holy whisper is fading behind every doubt-filled lie.

I do not seek perfection from my children, only their adoring affection. All I’ve ever wanted is your heart, tethered to perfectly to Mine. Each time you reach for my hand, your trust in me grows as I prove to you, I will not let go. My child, how could we keep building our relationship if you didn’t need to rely on Me? I created you to embrace your weakness, it’s the very means in which I work. If you could do everything perfectly, you wouldn’t need Me. I Am The Perfect One, working in and through you, my glory is on display in the very weakness that you despise. I am proud of you, as you reluctantly put one foot in front of the other. I love to watch you grow, and change, and surrender, and fall, and get back up, and try again….this is the flawless part of imperfection that I delight in.

Your willingness to seek Me is a perfect pairing of your neediness and my grace, releasing a beautiful fragrance up to the heavenlies, leaving sparks behind you, bringing out the God colors in the world. I died a criminal’s death to free you from condemning thoughts. “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” (Romans 8:31-35) Nothing can separate you from Me my child. Not what you do, or what you do not do…everything is covered in my blood.

When you focus on yourself, trying to do things in your own power, the lens is backwards, thus you become discouraged, and overwhelmed. The enemy pours his venom on your thoughts and your exhaustion grows. The taskmaster of this world keeps shouting at your soul… “You shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have said that. You should have known better. You should be better at this. You should change that. You should be better. You should do better. You should be more. You should do more. You should have known better. You should have…”

Shhhhhhh.

You must learn to silence these thoughts by taking them captive and laying them at My feet. The enemy is at war with Me, and when He sees my Kingdom advancing, because of our boldness, he will fight you every step of the way. Bossing you around with doubt and feelings of unworthiness. His voice is harsh, condemning, full of shame and rooted in man’s approval. His way will bring a dis-ease to your soul and poison to your mind. He despises My work in you. He sees what you are capable of and it scares him, he knows his time is short, and stopping you is his mission. Rise above those voices, keep your eyes on Me. My way is gentle, and kind, lulling you forward with the sound of my Peace. Deep down My voice penetrates your pounding chest, “Cease striving sweet one, and trust me.”

Remember, there is no peace in perfection. You will never reach this elusive goal. This side of heaven, human perfection is unattainable. When you strive to be perfect, something inside of you dies. My child, this is useless, I already died so you do not have to. Free yourself from the chains that keep you bound to your performance, your works do not make you worthy, My Perfect Love is the source of your worthiness. Take my yoke upon you, my way is easy, and my burden is light. When you are yoked with striving, your shoulders will always slump under the burdensome weight. Give Me your perfectionism, and I will give you rest for your bogged down, over thinking, perfection seeking mind.

Cease striving.

I love you with an everlasting love. A love that far exceeds anything you could ever possibly do, or not do. When I breathed my last breath, hanging on that rugged cross in calvary, My blood testified that you were enough. I have never once, and never will change my mind about you. You are My beloved.

Breathe in grace, breathe out fear.

Breathe in love, breathe out lies.

Breathe in peace, breathe out doubt.

Breathe in Truth, breath out bondage.

I give you permission to be imperfect…because you wouldn’t need Me if you were.