“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” The cold winter wind contrasted the hot tears running down my cheeks. I was standing in the middle of the street with a friend of mine, struggling with shame and stress.
“Sara!” My friend hugged me. “There is nothing wrong with you. You are human!”
Now my tears were mixed with laughter. It sounded so much like what I’d told a friend the day before. “I’m a hypocrite.”
It is so easy to beat ourselves up. But lately, God’s been challenging me not to focus on my own expectations of myself, or on other’s expectations of me, but rather to focus on God’s expectations of me.
His yoke is easy and his burden is light. He looks on us not with shame or stress, but compassion and love. You see, he is the one who created us as humans. He knows that we are limited. He knows!
As today’s passage says, he remembers that we are dust. He doesn’t expect dust to be divine.
God is not mad that we are human.
Rather, he helps us. He carries us. He holds us. He himself transforms us. Our limits are not something he is upset about, they are opportunities for his love and glory to be showcased.
So friend, take a deep breath. Take a nap, eat some food, and ask for help. God is pleased with your best, and he is not expecting you to be something you are not.
God, I confess trying to put myself in the role of god in my life. I ask you for grace, and I thank you for your compassion for me. Thank you for making me human.
Today’s Challenge: Rather than spending your energy on stressing, shaming, and fearing, what would happen if you receive from God and focus on his expectations of you?