Progress, Not Perfection

“I work very hard at this, as I depend on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.”
Colossians 1:29

One thing I know for sure is that I am so far from perfect!

You've probably noticed typos in my emails, mistakes in our workout videos, and maybe even a recipe that didn't turn out quite right on one of our cooking shows.

And while I always want to do my best, I've learned that if I expect myself to get everything right, I'm setting myself up for a lot of unnecessary frustration.

Think about it.

When our expectation is "I shouldn't make mistakes," but our reality is "I'm a human being who makes mistakes," there's a gap between what we expect and what actually happens.

And that gap can quickly fill with disappointment, self-criticism, and shame.

The higher our unrealistic expectations, the more opportunities we create to feel like we've failed.

But here's the thing: There's a big difference between striving for excellence and expecting perfection.

God wants us to grow, use our gifts, work hard, and do things well. But He never intended for us to do all of that without depending on Him.

And He certainly doesn't want us beating ourselves up every time something doesn't go as planned.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is acknowledge the mistake, learn from it, and move on.

And sometimes, we just need to laugh!

My mom was so good at this. I rarely heard her criticizing herself over little mistakes, but I often heard her laughing about them. She had a wonderful ability to keep things in perspective, and I think that's something we could all learn from.

Not every mistake needs to become a big deal, and certainly not every mistake needs to become a reason to feel ashamed.

One of my favorite Bible verses is Colossians 1:29:

"I work very hard at this, as I depend on Christ's mighty power that works within me."

I love how Paul brings together two things that we sometimes treat as opposites: working hard and depending on God.

He's not saying, "I'll just sit back and let God do everything."

And he's not saying, "It's all up to me."

He's saying, in essence, "I'm giving this my best effort, but I'm relying on God's power, not just my own."

That's exactly how I feel about our No Shame November challenge.

I've spent a lot of time studying, praying, writing, and asking God for wisdom as I've put this together. I want it to be meaningful and helpful to you.

But I also know that no matter how much work I put into it, I can't change someone's heart. Only God can do that.

My responsibility is to be faithful with what He's given me and trust Him with the results.

Francis Chan shares a challenging thought in his book Crazy Love:

"You should be involved in at least one activity that, if God doesn't show up, it will fail miserably."

I love that because it reminds me that we're not supposed to live as though everything depends on us.

We can work hard, make plans, pursue goals, and give our best effort while still recognizing how much we need God.

And when we fall short, instead of allowing shame to take over, we can ask ourselves:

What can I learn from this? Is there something I need to do differently? Am I trying to carry something God never intended me to carry alone?

I hope you'll give yourself a little more room to be human today.

Keep working toward the things that matter. Keep learning. Keep growing. But don't confuse making a mistake with being a failure.

You don't have to do everything perfectly. You just need to keep showing up, doing your best, and depending on the One whose power is made perfect in our weakness.

Something to Think About

Where in your life are you holding yourself to expectations that may not be realistic?

When you fall short, do you tend to criticize yourself, or can you recognize the mistake, learn from it, and move forward?

And here's one more question I really want you to consider:

Are you working hard while depending on God's strength, or are you trying to do everything in your own strength?

Take a few minutes to talk with God about an area where you need to release the pressure to be perfect and trust Him more.

Remember, God isn't asking you to be perfect. He's asking you to be faithful and depend on Him along the way.