No Need to Perform

WE live in a performance driven world. It seems if we perform more it will make us more of a somebody. It seems we are driven by parents, coworkers, friends, and media to do more. If you make better grades you can get into the right school. If you get into the right school you get  the right job. If you date the right person you will have the perfect marriage. If you parent by the book ( I might need that book) then you will have the perfect kids. We drive ourselves crazy and make ourselves exhausted performing to reach something that let's just face it isn't real.

I believe it is a horrible lie satan has fed us that in order to be somebody we must kill ourselves trying to be someone else. We look and compare our lives to others on TV, at work, other families and we think that is how our lives should look.  We believe we must do more to be loved and accepted by others. It is as if we are anything but ourselves then we are something. If we let people see the "real" us then we might not be accepted. So we do more, try harder. I am in no way saying we shouldn't work hard at things, in fact, we should do all things as if unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:17) We just shouldn't perform for others to be accepted.

I believe sometimes we take this same mentality into our spiritual life. We try to perform and please for acceptance and love from Jesus. I know I have. I would try and try to just do more. Join anther team, take on another project, get more girls involved in Bible Study, teach more, write better, do everything. It was as if I did more than I could take all those things to Jesus and say "see all these things I am carrying and doing now will you love me. Am I worth your acceptance now?" Yes, me a girl who has been in love with Jesus for 12 years now was trying to gain love by working. I don't believe it started out that way. It started off as service out of my deep love for him and then slowly I started to believe the lie that I had to perform.

As I was sitting in my chair one morning talking with Jesus I just started crying. I said "Lord I am so exhausted from doing all these things for you.' He sweetly whispered back " I never asked you to do all those things. Some I did, but not all of it." I argued, yes argued " If I am to be worth you dying for, and if I am to pay you back for paying my debt then I have to work for you." He whispered, "All I want is you. All I ever wanted was you." Right then and there I felt all the chains around my heart and hands fall. I felt freedom. Freedom that comes when you hear the truth and it sets you free from every lie. Jesus says, "Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

The truth of it is all Jesus wants is us. There is no need to perform. He wants us to come to Him and give Him our heart. He did not die on the cross for us to make ourselves exhausted doing "churchy" things. He didn't die for you to become exhausted working for acceptance. He didn't die asking us to work oursleves into the ground trying to earn salvation and acceptance. In fact he died wanting just us.  
Ephesians 2:4-5 But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.(NIV)
He loved you before you were even trying to gain acceptance. Jesus loved you when everything you were doing was against him. What kind of love is that? Pure, true love. Love that even in our ugliest, darkest, nastiest self Jesus died for us. He did not carry that cross and die on it because we were doing something good. Jesus was beaten, mocked, nailed to a cross and crucified for our sin. Our dark and ugly self. That is how much he loves us. He accepted us long before we chose to accept Him, There is no need to perform. We were saved by grace.

Grace, is what saves us, not our deeds. Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. (NIV)
Our life in Jesus is our gift from God He showed us grace, favor we do not deserve because He loves us and wants to know us. We can not receive gifts with our hands balled up into fists. We have to open our hands and accept and receive it. We often perform with our hands balled into fist and wonder were God is in our works.  We know in our heart he has saved us and we didn't earn it but our actions do not show that. We work without accepting the love. If we would dare to open up our hands, lift them up to the Jesus in anticipation of receiving those promises I wonder what our works would look like then? I am 100% convinced if we lived our life with our hands open we would shake this country to the core and revival would brake lose. I believe if we lifted up open hands and lived in the acceptance of Christ love for us the Holy Spirit would move in power. We our saved by grace, no need to perform.

I know what you may be thinking. So you are saying we are to be saved and then do nothing? Nope, not at all. The Bible says in Ephesians 2: 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus  to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV)
God has a plan for your life. He has set you apart to do good works. Frist before you can even begin to do those good works you have to accept His love and forgiveness. You need to realize He loves you and wants good for you. Then those good works you do will not be out of a need to perform. You will no longer feel like you have to do something good enough to earn salvation or pay Him back for what He did for you. You will do good works because the love you have for Christ will pore out of your life. It will never be an obligation but a privileged to serve the One and Only Jesus. Jesus' love will pour into your life and out as you work for Him.

If you are up for it I dare you to go somewhere and be still with God. Lay bare your heart to Him. Ask God to show you through the Holy Spirit if your works are performed out of His love for you or if you are trying to gain acceptance. Ask God to renew the joy of your salvation. Go to Him with all your heartache, worry, sadness, pain, joy and happiness. Sit still and let the maker of the Universe wrap his arms around you and just receive His love. Give Him your heart I promise He will give His back to you. He is faithful and true and loves you beyond measure. Nothing can keep you from His love.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels, nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
Come just as you are to Jesus, open your heart and your hands to receive His love. He loves you just the way you are. There is no need to perform.

I promise if Jesus can take a sinful, messed up, broken girl like me and make her beautiful He will do it for you. He just wants you. Just run to Him I DARE YOU!

P.S. If you can listen to David Crowder's "Come as you are". Google it, youtube, whatever it amazing.