By His Grace

As women today we are bombarded with the images of perfection. From the fashion or home magazines, perfectly curated Instagram feeds, or Pinterest boards. Everywhere we go we are faced with the unattainable standard our culture portrays is the “perfect everything”.

the perfect body

the perfect husband

perfect kids

perfect home

perfect car

The perfect EVERYTHING!

Many women have bought into the lie of perfection and that leaves us feeling inadequate, discouraged, and insecure. The lies we believe impact how we live which is why many women today struggle with self-worth, feeling like they don’t measure up, or that they just aren’t enough. 

My guest today Missy Lewis has struggled with feeling like she is not enough, and is on a mission to tell women that through Christ we are enough. 

Friends, the truth is on our we will never be enough, we will never live up to an unrealistic standard of perfection. But praise God when we are weak Jesus is strong. When our identity is rooted and grounded in the love of Jesus Christ, we learn that in Jesus we are enough.

The problem begins when we compare ourselves to others. Comparison is a trap and a joy killer. It takes our eyes off of Jesus and puts our eyes on what we perceive we have or don’t have, or what others have. And that will leave us coming up empty EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Comparison takes our eyes off of Jesus, put our eyes on what we perceive we have or don’t have, or what others have. And that will leave us coming up empty EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Click To Tweet

Instead, we should laser focus on Jesus. Not on our friends, our sister, our family, our kids, our neighbors, our social media profiles, our bank accounts, our stuff, our house, our cars, our problems, or anywhere else but Jesus. Jesus is the only one who can satisfy, and meet all of our needs. 

We love the Olympics in our house and always watch them. Different family members like different events. My son Connor loves watching the swimming and was a huge Michael Phelps fan. He would go around the house imitating his arm motions and starting position. When Michael Phelps swims he doesn’t look at the swimmers in the other lanes to see what they are doing. He is focused on doing what he is supposed to do. I think this is a great visual for our lives. We don’t need to worry about what others are doing, we just need to focus on swimming hard and fast in our own lane. Keeping our eyes laser-focused on Jesus.

In the book of Hebrews Chapter 12:1-2 states, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

In these verses, our Christian life is referred to as a race, and that we should look to Jesus, the founder, and perfecter of our faith. Fully man but fully God, Jesus did what only He could do. He is the perfect sinless, spotless lamb, that died that we may live. On our own, we will never be enough. But because Jesus paid the price of our sin on the cross, and defeated death, hell, and the grave, we are made enough. 

Here are a few thoughts from my guest Missy Lewis on being enough.


 

Not Enough… by Missy Lewis

Is there anyone else out there who feels as if you are never enough?  Not pretty enough.  Not athletic enough.  Not thin enough.  Not smart enough.  Not old enough.  Not young enough.  Not funny enough.  Not outgoing enough…

You get the picture.

I have spent a lifetime in this state of “un-enoughness,” and I’m fed up with it!  I invite you to join me and, on the count of three, we can all yell, “ENOUGH ALREADY!”

Ready?

One!

Two!

Three…

ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

Doesn’t that feel better?

You are enough already!

I am enough already!

We’ve had enough already!

Enough of listening to the enemy whisper those vicious lies into our ears about how we can never be enough.  Because you know what the Truth is?

We. Are. Not. ENOUGH!

Not alone, anyway.

God knew this, though, and He never intended for us to stay that way.  He made a way through Jesus so we can be enough.  The choice is ours, though.  If we choose Jesus, we are made complete in Him.  If we deny Him…we will never know enoughness.

Missy Lewis is a wife, Momma, and “Minnie” (that’s her grandma name) from rural West Texas. When she’s not playing with her two precious granddaughters, she blogs at themissylewis.com. She is a scribe and a messenger with one urgent message – God loves you just as you are! You are ENOUGH already!


Friends, we are in a battle. We have an insidious spiritual enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He is a liar, and a thief and he is bent on our destruction. That is why we must take our thoughts captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. We need to know the truth of God’s word because the truth sets us free. The truth combats the lies that try to derail us from being all that we were created to be!

I challenge you to get into the word of God, study it, know it, believe it, and use it to combat the lies.

Much Love,

 

 

 

Misty Phillip

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