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mom4life5
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Monday, 2/3/13 (Copied from Elizabeth Crews, Winning Words - email link at bottom)
Winning Words ©
My prayer is not for them alone.
I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.
John 17:20
The phrase “all or nothing at all” is more than the title of a once-popular song. It is also the motto of those who are troubled by the problem of perfectionism. For these perfectionistic folks, the world only has two colors: pure white and jet black. Good enough is just not part of their thought process, nor is, “I did okay, and next time I’ll do better.” In the mind’s eye of a perfectionist, life events are either totally perfect or totally wrong; there is no middle ground that allows room for growth and maturity. As a result, those plagued by perfectionism spend their lives on an emotional and spiritual rollercoaster. They are either high or they are low, up or down, good or bad—but balance and harmony elude them.
Perhaps this prevalent problem of perfectionism was the reason God included Simon Peter among the 12 men chosen to be Jesus’ disciples. A perfectionist chosen to be a disciple would indeed give hope to others who suffer from the same malady! Just reading the Gospel accounts of Peter’s words and actions gives us a better understanding of the problem. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter was afraid, yet he wanted to build booths and stay up there forever. At the Last Supper he was not going to allow the Lord to wash his feet, but when Jesus rebuked him for his attitude, he wanted to have his whole body washed by the Master! When Jesus said one of the disciples would deny Him, Peter boasted that even if the whole world were to deny Jesus, he would not do so. Within a few hours, however, a housemaid’s simple words caused Peter to deny that he had ever heard of Jesus. And yet, in spite of Peter’s black and white, all or nothing thinking, Jesus prayed for him and for all those yet-to-be perfectionists that would be adopted into the family of God.
Jesus knew that Peter wouldn’t do it perfectly—that Peter’s faith would fail—but He still prayed for him! However, we must note that Jesus did not pray that Peter would achieve earthly perfection. What our Lord asked was that when Peter turned back to his senses and put his faith and trust in God’s perfect forgiveness, that he would lend strength to others who struggled with being imperfect human beings too.
When it comes to loving self-care, most of us fall into the “all or nothing at all” camp. We are either following our food plans perfectly, or we are out of control. We are either exercising every day, or we aren’t exercising at all. We are either getting 8 hours of sleep per night, or we are burning the candle at both ends. Today I invite you to replace your need to do things perfectly with God’s perfect forgiveness. When it comes to our human behavior, there is always room for growth and maturity. When it comes to God’s ability to forgive, either all our sins have been forgiven or we are not living in the joy and freedom Jesus died to give His people! Jesus came to set the captives free—even those caught in of the vicious cycle of “all or nothing at all” mentality; those reforming perfectionists that Jesus prays for perfectly each and every day.
Heaven will be the perfection we have always longed for.
~~Billy Graham
An archive of past winning words is available on my website: www.mywinningwords.org
Winning Words is also available in a larger font edition that is easier on “over 50” eyes! If you would like your name switched to the “larger print” version of Winning Words please e-mail me at Elizabeth@mywinningwords.org and I will gladly add your name to the larger print list. Please put “change to larger print version” in the subject line of your e-mail. (Note: This option is only available for those equipped to receive HTML messages.)
If this message has been forwarded to you and you would like to subscribe to this free daily devotional, you may go to my website: www.mywinningwords.org and add your name to the subscription list.
If Winning Words no longer meets your needs, please use the “cancel subscription” option below and your name will be immediately removed from the mailing list.
There is also a “change subscription” option below for those who wish to change their e-mail address. Please do not use the “change subscription” option to add a new subscription to the list, as this will delete the address to which the devotional was originally sent! For new subscriptions please follow the subscription instructions printed above.
You are welcome to forward this devotional writing to anyone you feel would benefit from Winning Words.
God bless and keep you as you keep Him first in all things!
Elizabeth Crews
Box 493
Winning Words ©
My prayer is not for them alone.
I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.
John 17:20
The phrase “all or nothing at all” is more than the title of a once-popular song. It is also the motto of those who are troubled by the problem of perfectionism. For these perfectionistic folks, the world only has two colors: pure white and jet black. Good enough is just not part of their thought process, nor is, “I did okay, and next time I’ll do better.” In the mind’s eye of a perfectionist, life events are either totally perfect or totally wrong; there is no middle ground that allows room for growth and maturity. As a result, those plagued by perfectionism spend their lives on an emotional and spiritual rollercoaster. They are either high or they are low, up or down, good or bad—but balance and harmony elude them.
Perhaps this prevalent problem of perfectionism was the reason God included Simon Peter among the 12 men chosen to be Jesus’ disciples. A perfectionist chosen to be a disciple would indeed give hope to others who suffer from the same malady! Just reading the Gospel accounts of Peter’s words and actions gives us a better understanding of the problem. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter was afraid, yet he wanted to build booths and stay up there forever. At the Last Supper he was not going to allow the Lord to wash his feet, but when Jesus rebuked him for his attitude, he wanted to have his whole body washed by the Master! When Jesus said one of the disciples would deny Him, Peter boasted that even if the whole world were to deny Jesus, he would not do so. Within a few hours, however, a housemaid’s simple words caused Peter to deny that he had ever heard of Jesus. And yet, in spite of Peter’s black and white, all or nothing thinking, Jesus prayed for him and for all those yet-to-be perfectionists that would be adopted into the family of God.
Jesus knew that Peter wouldn’t do it perfectly—that Peter’s faith would fail—but He still prayed for him! However, we must note that Jesus did not pray that Peter would achieve earthly perfection. What our Lord asked was that when Peter turned back to his senses and put his faith and trust in God’s perfect forgiveness, that he would lend strength to others who struggled with being imperfect human beings too.
When it comes to loving self-care, most of us fall into the “all or nothing at all” camp. We are either following our food plans perfectly, or we are out of control. We are either exercising every day, or we aren’t exercising at all. We are either getting 8 hours of sleep per night, or we are burning the candle at both ends. Today I invite you to replace your need to do things perfectly with God’s perfect forgiveness. When it comes to our human behavior, there is always room for growth and maturity. When it comes to God’s ability to forgive, either all our sins have been forgiven or we are not living in the joy and freedom Jesus died to give His people! Jesus came to set the captives free—even those caught in of the vicious cycle of “all or nothing at all” mentality; those reforming perfectionists that Jesus prays for perfectly each and every day.
Heaven will be the perfection we have always longed for.
~~Billy Graham
An archive of past winning words is available on my website: www.mywinningwords.org
Winning Words is also available in a larger font edition that is easier on “over 50” eyes! If you would like your name switched to the “larger print” version of Winning Words please e-mail me at Elizabeth@mywinningwords.org and I will gladly add your name to the larger print list. Please put “change to larger print version” in the subject line of your e-mail. (Note: This option is only available for those equipped to receive HTML messages.)
If this message has been forwarded to you and you would like to subscribe to this free daily devotional, you may go to my website: www.mywinningwords.org and add your name to the subscription list.
If Winning Words no longer meets your needs, please use the “cancel subscription” option below and your name will be immediately removed from the mailing list.
There is also a “change subscription” option below for those who wish to change their e-mail address. Please do not use the “change subscription” option to add a new subscription to the list, as this will delete the address to which the devotional was originally sent! For new subscriptions please follow the subscription instructions printed above.
You are welcome to forward this devotional writing to anyone you feel would benefit from Winning Words.
God bless and keep you as you keep Him first in all things!
Elizabeth Crews
Box 493
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