|
“I’m so far behind. I feel like I’m not even close to where I want this business to be or where I want to be in life.”
I shamefully admitted my feelings of disqualification to my female business owners group, wondering if anyone could possibly understand. Each one of them nodded their heads, like an unspoken bond of trust and understanding without really even knowing each other yet.
After I closed my computer screen, I had a thought. Does everyone feel behind or not good enough in one way or another? Whether it’s our professional goals, marital status, maturity, or our desire for motherhood, we can often feel like we’re being held back from our potential, staring at a view of our “best selves” from a lagging distance.
I’d like to think Paul knew we’d have these feelings of spinning our wheels when he wrote his various letters in the New Testament.
"So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up." Galatians 6:9
I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. - Philippians 3:13-14
While Paul was writing all these Bible verses about pressing on to grow in his faith, his words don’t go unnoticed by us women who sometimes feel less than enough. Women who feel like we’re spinning our wheels trying to do it all, yet we’re not doing the best things to move forward. Like God has forgotten about them in their current season.
Let’s pause for a second and think about the way we judge ourselves for not being good enough.
Today’s verse, Romans 8:1, focuses on the word condemnation. Condemnation means to criticize or judge. What if we took this verse at full truth. Not just to protect us from unfair judgment from others, but also from ourselves? What if we really believed it was wrong to condemn ourselves for our imperfections and accepted that maybe God has a purpose for our current circumstances?
We can’t judge ourselves for not measuring up to our own expectations. God has seasons for us, and the season we’re in is where we’re supposed to be.
We can’t give up. Our hard situations won’t last forever and will be used for good.
We have to forget what is behind and only look at what is ahead. Our hope for tomorrow must be stronger than our current frustrations and impatience.
Flashing back to my conversation with my female business friends, I started thinking about how I could focus on what’s in front of me, what I currently have that God has blessed me with, instead of constantly thinking about where I “should” be. I made a list of the things God might want me to prioritize, and funny enough, the list was REALLY long. I had plenty of things to do before God answered my prayer for more.
If you’re feeling behind in your life, I invite you to think about what God might want you to steward something that’s in front of you while waiting for something new. Don’t get tired of doing what is good with what you already have. At just the right time you will reap a harvest of blessing. But you can’t give up before then.
|
