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Do you struggle with perfectionism, thinking you need to do everything right in order to feel loved, valued, and accepted by God, yourself, and others?
I used to.
I’m not saying that I never struggle with perfectionistic tendencies, but it happens a lot less often now that God’s grace has settled comfortably into my understanding.
For years, I was a card-carrying member of the Performance-Based Acceptance Association.
I thought I had to “do life” perfectly in order to feel beautiful.
Can you relate?
That kind of thinking is doomed to failure because we all mess up.
James 3:2 says, “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.”
This verse is saying that no Christian will perfectly reflect Christ, 24/7/365, although that is the deepest desire of our new heart.
Yes, we want what God wants because His desires are woven into the lining of our brand-new hearts in Him (Ezek 36:26; 2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 6:17; Heb. 8:10).
But we still have to deal with the flesh—those old, unrenewed thought patterns of doing life apart from dependence on Christ in us).
The flesh is not our old man—who we were before we believed into Jesus.
That person was crucified with Christ, buried, and then raised to a brand-new life in Him (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20; Col. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:3).
The flesh is a way of walking in this world based in deception, rather than in the truth of our brand-new flawless identity in Christ.
And when we walk by the flesh, we stumble (Romans 8:6; Gal. 5:16–17).
I recently bought a beautiful wood-framed wall hanging that reminds me how God wants me to respond when I mess up.
It quietly adorns a wall in my living room, displaying the simple message, “When you stumble, make it part of the dance.”
I love it when Jesus directs my attention to it, reminding me once again, “Kim, when (not if) you stumble, make it part of the dance.”
That’s when I breathe a sigh of sweet relief, smile, thank Him once again for His amazing grace, and let Him sweep me off my feet in this beautiful (not perfect) dance called “new life in Christ.”
If you’ve stopped enjoying your dance with Christ because you feel like you’ve stepped on His toes one too many times, why don’t you lean in and listen to these tender Whispers from your perfect Dance Partner today:
“My love, in this dance called ‘new life in Christ,’ you may be wondering what to do when you stumble, interrupting the flow of My grace.”
“You were dancing so well, resting in My arms and enjoying My leading.”
“What caused you to stumble?”
“I’ll tell you.”
“You were tripped up the moment you took your eyes off Me and put them on your feet, trying to make sure you were getting all the steps ‘right.'”
“Even though that seemed like the proper thing to do, it only made you to stumble more.”
“And all of those missteps and mess ups ultimately caused you to stop enjoying your dance with Me.”
“This simply will not do!”
“This dance with you was the joy set before Me while I endured the cross.”
“My stunning bride, when (not if) you stumble in this dance, you have a choice to make.”
“You can keep looking at your feet—wasting precious time—or you can put your attention squarely on My loving gaze and allow Me once again to sweep you off your feet. “
“Can you hear the background music?”
“They are playing our song!”
“It’s called the ‘Song of the Lamb.'”
“The song of grace.”
“When you entrust yourself entirely to My leading, the gorgeous expression of our dance on this earth will be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and righteousness.”
“That’s when you will once again enjoy wondrous delight in our dance.”
“And that, My love, is the greatest desire of My heart!”
Dear reader, have you let your stumbles interrupt your enjoyment of your dance with Christ?
I hope you enjoyed today’s post which contains an excerpt from my book, Fifty Days in His Pursuing Love Devotional.
I also want to encourage you to take some time to meditate on the Scripture basis for today’s post in order to get your mind renewed with truth.
You will love the transformation that takes place in your life when you are walking in truth (Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:16; 3 John 1:4)!
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If you enjoyed this post, I invite you to check out all of my books and my video series based on my first devotional.
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