Sometimes we feel that we fall really short of God’s standards. We reflect on our flaws, failures and weaknesses and think we’ll never be good enough. Unfortunately, we’re never going to be perfect while we’re here on Earth. But that doesn’t mean that we need to be beating ourselves up for our lack of perfection and our failures in meeting God’s standards. Paul wasn’t stressed about his weaknesses, instead he boasted about them. ‘If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness’ (2 Corinthians 11:30 NIV). When we’re weak, God can show His strength, and we rely on Him more. The Old Testament is full of laws that needed to be followed to be ‘right’ with God. But, because of Jesus, we’re not under those laws. We don’t need to earn God’s acceptance through trying harder to be better. Instead, we’ve got the Holy Spirit to help guide us, transform us and give us strength. ‘By dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code’ (Romans 7:6 NIV). This doesn’t mean we can just sit back and take it easy, thinking we can do anything we like. We still need to desire to become more like Christ and to do things God’s way. But it does mean that we don’t need to be constantly striving and stressing. It’s not about trying harder but leaning harder on God’s Spirit who lives in us.
What now?
Every time you feel under pressure to strive and meet God’s ‘standards’, say to yourself ‘I have been released from the law’.