The need to feel good about ourselves

“The fruit of righteousness will be peace; it’s effect will be quietness and confidence forever”

Isaiah 32:17

There is an intense quest we humans pursue.  That persistent endeavor is the need to feel good about ourselves.  We all want to think we’re okay.  We all want to think the choices we make are the right ones.  We all want to think as long as we try hard we’re in good standing.  It is a quest that can make us fearful and anxious.  “What if I’m not doing as well as I think I am?”  What if my best isn’t good enough?”  What if I’m making the wrong choice here?”

Looking to others for our inner sense of well-being is pointless.  Let’s be honest, we will never be good enough or consistent enough to get full time praise from the people we seek it from.  At some point, we are all going to mess up and disappoint others.  Looking to what we do or accomplish for our inner sense of self-worth is a waste.  Sooner or later we will lose our way and do or say something we regret.  We will fail, falter, or fall flat on our face.  Even if we do achieve some form of success, chances are good that the buzz of it will be short-lived.  The weak thing about success is that once you achieve it, you must start looking for the next success.  This can wear you out quickly.

Can we ever be free from all this pressure?  Is there a place where we can find release from this need for success and acclaim?  I have good news for all of us.  There is definitely a place where we can be free from life’s pressure cooker.   Our deliverance is found in the reality that Jesus Christ’s grace has forever freed us from the need to prove ourselves and our worth.  We cannot make our own worth, no matter how hard we try to.  Jesus Christ gives us our worth.  Our value as a person is totally a gift to us that flows from our relationship with him.  Philippians 4:13 tells us that, “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.”  The grace of Jesus Christ is the one thing that can forever free us from the need to prove our worth.  Every morning I encourage you to remind yourself  to spend your day searching upward for your value, not outward.  That is what will give  us “peace, quietness, and confidence forever.”  

                                                                                                           Darlene