5 Reasons you should Stop Striving
There are pretty people. There are smart people. There are athletic people. You know what I mean. Let’s not be so super spiritual that we lie and act like these categories don’t exist. Let’s also be honest and admit that we really struggle with the person who somehow manages to fit in all three categories. Why can’t we all score a 36 on the ACT, win the championship game, and be the life of the party?While the groups and jockeying start long before 9th grade, every high school student knows the drill. Of course, some of the cliques and labels fade after graduation… but a little “high school” remains in each of us. I make this observation because as a grown woman, I constantly encounter women still navigating the results of their assigned category.I’ve come to realize that looks, brains, athleticism, and even money are actually highly overrated. Oh sure, we wouldn’t turn down more. We can’t resist the currency of the culture. Yet the more someone has of these treasured attributes does not equate to more peace. The person you view as very successful has their own battles they struggle to fight. The more someone looks like they have it all together, the more I doubt it to be true. I’ve seen it too many times.[bctt tweet="The person you view as very successful has their own battles they struggle to fight."]So, if better looks, smarter brains, stronger muscles, and some extra cash aren’t worth fighting for, what is? I propose that there’s only one battle we must fight: the one that unlocks what each of us longs for…The biggest battle in life is being OK with who you are. If you win that one battle, you win everything. It doesn’t even matter where you measure on the spectrum. As long as you’re at peace with where you, you’ll go to the front of the class.I don’t mean to oversimplify what’s clearly complex, but I truly believe that the process of becoming OK with yourself is much more important than the level of talent, success, or prosperity you have. Something beautiful happens when you decide you’re OK. You stop striving.
- You stop the comparison game.
- You enjoy the blessings and life you’ve been given.
- You can ask for help without feeling inadequate.
- You can value others without it making you feel “less than.”
- Your efforts to grow, mature, and improve will be rooted in being the best you that God made you to be.
So, are you OK with you? The very One who made you isn’t just OK with you; He adores you and created you with a specific purpose. Don’t take my word for it:
Zephaniah 3:17The LORD your God is in your midst,a mighty one who will save;he will rejoice over you with gladness;he will quiet you by his love;he will exult over you with loud singing.
1 Peter 5:6-7Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Romans 8:37-39No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Timothy 1:9[The Lord]… who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began…
May His Words inspire you to stop focusing on what you don’t have and move you to the place of believing you’re OK.[bctt tweet="The One who made you isn’t just OK with you; He adores you and created you with a specific purpose."]