To Be or Not to Be?

Lord, what do you want me to do? is a valid question, but sometimes we emphasize this query more than the essential one: Lord, who do you want me to be? When concentrating primarily on doing without allowing time to consider who I’m becoming, I can get over-tired and agitated. It’s a vicious cycle. I do, but it doesn’t always produce the peace I crave, so I conclude I should do more.

According to the Excellence vs. Perfectionism Chart in The Relief of Imperfection[i], when you and I chase for perfection (striving too hard to make it just right) our lives are shaped on the pursuit of doing. Yet, when we partner with God for excellence—enjoying quality in balance—our lives focus on the pursuit of being.

This reminds me of when Jesus’ followers asked, “What does God want us to do?” Jesus replied, “The work God wants you to do is believe.”*  Jesus offers you and me relief from the performance merry-go-round. He assures us that God wants us to be—to be a believing person. We believe that He sent Jesus to show us his love. It doesn’t mean we neglect action. Doing flows naturally out of being. We can learn to be first and thendo.

Lord, today I’ll hit the pause button on my over-doing so I can get quiet enough inside to acknowledge the growing faith within me.

Making It Personal: Who are you becoming?

*  John 6:28-29: What are the things God wants us to do? Jesus answered, “The work God wants you to do is this: to believe in the One that God sent.” (NCV)

This post is devotion #3 in my recently-released book, It’s a Wonderful (Imperfect) Life.http://tinyurl.com/DevoBook

[i]Joan C. Webb, The Relief of Imperfection (Ventura, CA: Regal, 2007)