By Rae Lynn DeAngelis
Hi, my name is Rae Lynn, and I’m a recovering perfectionist. (There, … I said it.) I used to spend hours on what should have taken mere minutes. Cleaning day was an all-day project. I wanted everything to be pristine at the same time. Even if it only lasted an hour. Getting ready for the day took hours. Sad but true. And writing devotions like this one were subject to multiple reviews, changes, and rewrites before I would send them on to my editor.
I was a slave to perfectionism, and it was exhausting. But praise God, those days are over. I still like to clean, pay attention to my appearance, and write with excellence, but I no longer stress, strain, and pour over every detail, aiming for perfection.
Why? Because I know it is not possible for me to be perfect. In fact, it’s virtually impossible for me, you, or anyone else to be perfect.
We are imperfect human beings. And we live in an imperfect world.
Should we strive for excellence? Absolutely! Should we do our best? Of course! But friends, God never intended for us to obsess over every detail and beat ourselves up every time we fall short. We can and should do our best. But when something doesn’t come together flawlessly or like we imagined in our mind, we must eventually conclude, it’s good enough.
How do we get to the place of letting go and accepting that our good is good enough? God has shown me two points of focus:
Put your faith and trust in the ONE who is good—God.
- “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
- The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him” (Lamentations 3:25).
- “Jesus answered, ‘No one is good—except God alone” (Luke 18:19).
And remember, He is enough!
- “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
- “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” Psalm 73:26).
- “You are my portion, Lord; I have promised to obey your words” (Psalm 119:57).
- “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).
- “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
When we put our faith in the ONE who is both good and enough, our pronouncement that it’s good enough is not apathy or indifference. It’s a declaration of praise and worship.
God is good, and He’s enough!
“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).
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