Do you ever feel as if you never measure up? Not pretty enough. Not strong enough. Not rich enough. Not smart enough. Not successful enough. Don’t have your life put together. Oh, how I feel that way at times – as if everything I do will never be enough to satisfy this culture that bluntly demands perfection and instant results. I feel as if I always have people telling me what I’m doing doesn’t matter, that I’m not doing enough or that I should keep trying harder even when I know I’m giving my all. It’s in the midst of these hard days that God gently reminds me that when I spend more time in the world than His Word, I will always feel as if I don’t measure up. The world tells me that I need to be flawless, successful and beautiful to be accepted. God’s Word tells me to come to Him with my ugly and brokenness, He wants me even at my worst and He loves me just the way I am. His Word tells me to stay humble before Him and the more I grow in Him, the more He will grow a beauty inside me that is timeless. The world makes it about us, but God’s Word shifts our perspective from ourselves to Christ and the bigger picture of eternity.

It is when I listen to the whisper and prompting of God over the shouts and demands of this world, that I begin to realize I don’t have to measure up. He isn’t looking at the size of my house, how perfect my family appears, the number of followers I have on social media or if I’m on top of the latest fashion trends. He is saying come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest – true rest from the pressures of perfection from the One who truly is perfect. What a humble heart, for Christ to come down to care about me when He is so big and great and I feel so small. But to Him, I’m not small. I am His daughter, His workmanship, created uniquely in His sight to enjoy a relationship with Him and make Him known. He is not asking me to look perfect and do no wrongs. He is asking me to rest in His perfect hands, and let Him lead my heart in His truth. That’s what the gospel is – imperfect people who find their all in a perfect God.

When I sit before God with my Bible open to hear from Him, there is a rest that is greater than the noise. It becomes a healing balm to my heart and gives a joy that cannot be crushed by the messes in my life. I have to choose to listen to the Word of God over what the world says about me. I have to silence the world’s shouts and listen to the royal whisper. It’s there in that place that I will always measure up and come out walking lighter then when I came in. He sees into the depths of my soul and loves me just the same. In Him, I have no demands for perfection to measure up to and to discourage me. I have a love that fulfills me. He is the soothing song that sings over my heart, and reminds me to stop striving and start thriving in His grace, love and truth. It’s in His love that we find purpose and it’s in a relationship with Jesus Christ that we find we will always measure up.