Have you ever wondered what makes some people appear so happy and perfect all the time? Usually you run into these people on a day when absolutely everything is going wrong. Am I right?

Photo credit: cogdogblog / Foter / CC BY-SA

The dog and/or child had an accident. The bill that you don’t have money for came in the mail. You’re out of gas and have two days left before payday. You spilled coffee on your outfit on your way out the door…when you are running too late to change. And in your frazzled state of half panic you run into that person that appears to walk on sunshine and dance with unicorns on a daily basis. They never have a bad day, they never spill coffee on themselves, and their children are angelic creatures of the Gerber variety.

On days like THIS…

when encountering people like THAT…

you want to SLAP them.

Or at least I do. But instead you smile, chat pleasantly for a few moments while hoping they don’t notice that you look like you’ve walked through a car wash, and walk away feeling like the worst possible version of yourself (bonus points if you recognize the movie reference). That coffee stain feels like it is seeping into your very soul. You question your value as an employee, as a mother, as a human being. You wonder if your life will ever amount to anything.

On days like this…

…it is so important to preach truth to yourself. (I wrote more on this subject a while back…as in before I knew blog posts weren’t supposed to be an online equivalent to book chapters. It’s long, but if you are up for the challenge, you can read that post here.)

On days like this…REMEMBER…

Happiness is a fragile commodity.

Perfection is an illusion.

You are beautiful.

You are loved.

You are priceless.

How do I know?

Because Jesus paid the price for you with His life…a cost beyond comprehension.

It’s easy to believe you are worthless, washed up, beyond repair, good for nothing. It’s easy to believe because the Enemy constantly tells you these lies. He repeats them so often that they sound like truth. And with the lies he presents “evidence” of all the places where you don’t measure up. It’s easy to start nodding your heart in agreement with him. It’s hard to stand up on the inside and whisper, “you’re wrong.” But stand we must.

 Romans 8:26-39

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.²⁷ And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. ³¹ 

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword (or coffee stains or blow out diapers)? ³⁶ As it is written, 

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Need the highlight reel? Here it is.

The Holy Spirit is our Helper. He navigates us through the messes of our days and nights. The very Spirit of the Almighty God is our strength. Regardless of what anyone says or thinks, God gave His Son for you and it is His job to judge us, not our chipper cheerleader neighbor lady’s job and not our job. Christ does not condemn us. He died and our condemnation died with Him. When we accept Him as our Savior we accept His life as our own. Our worth is wrapped up in His worth, and nothing else. Not our appearance, not our talent, not our personality, not our accomplishments, not anything. Through His power and with His approval smiling down on us, we can courageously raise our weary heads, wipe the coffee stains off our blouses, and step into our days knowing that we might not feel like enough, but we are more than conquerors through Him.