6 Traps Perfectionists Need to Avoid
Let His grace be sufficient for you.
He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong
If you read my bio, you might think I’m a confident, well-accomplished blind gal. Not so. I mess up sometimes. Here’s a time when my confidence went out the window.
Some years back, I sat in various sessions and workshops at a writers’ and speakers’ conference. As part of the evaluation process of an effective speaker we were to prepare a 5-minute presentation. Piece of cake for this seasoned speaker, right?
With God-given confidence and passion that bubbled up in me, I stood in front of those ladies who were to evaluate me.
With vivid illustrations, I delivered my presentation. Once I finished, they handed me the scores which I placed inside a folder.
When I got home, hubby read the results and comments. I gasped. I sunk. I dropped my shoulders in disappointment.
How, just how could I get top scores in all areas except the one for volume and the effective closing? The closing of all things. I’ve always been told that my closings leave audiences on the edge of their seats.
With my lower lip dragging on the floor, I eased onto the pillows of discouragement.
Then, as I sipped from the glass of insecurity, I stepped into six traps when perfection doesn’t happen.
- I focused on the failure.
- I fell into the negative-thinking tank.
- I dismissed the positive, the wonderful and the promising.
- I embrace the enemy’s lies that I didn’t measure up.
- I wasted time worrying about the consequences
- And the worst one of all, I let the desire for perfection drag me down with unnecessary pressure.
Lesson Learned
So, lesson learned. When we focus on the one negative aspect of our journey, we’re blinded from seeing the great, the best and the wonderful.
They all come to view when we lift the need-to-be-perfect veil. Then is when we see that imperfect, vulnerable, and flawed is how the Lord accepts us. And more importantly, these weaknesses are precisely what He will use to make us grow.
When we choose to rise above mistakes and glance at the other side of failure, we can take a deep breath. Then, we reach for God’s hand and keep moving forward.
Along the way, we exchange our desire to become perfect for His perfect love and acceptance.
In the words of the apostle Paul:
He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
The enemy reminds us of the failures, but Christ repeats the power of His grace. His grace is sufficient to correct the wrong, turn failure to lessons, and usher success through opposition.
That’s why our strength doesn’t come in perfection, but in the perfect trust that His grace is truly, completely sufficient.
Janet
Used with permission by Global Media Outreach from Janet Perez Eckles. In spite of her physical blindness, Janet Perez Eckles serves the Lord as an international speaker and author. She imparts inspiration at www.janetperezeckles.com.
Pray this week:
Father, grant me wisdom to focus on the positive, the blessings, the good and the promising. I vow to look beyond my handful of flaws and gaze at Your hand at work instead. In Jesus name.
Where are you placing your focus these days?
Have you ever fallen into one of these traps? Tell us how we may encourage you and pray for you.