The Invitation to Be Present
God Wants Your Presence, Not Perfection
It’s a Friday Morning…
I’m ready. I have my coffee sweetened, a candle lit, and the pages of my journal flipped open, ready to receive the words God wants to write on my heart this morning.
The washing machine hums steady in the background. The dishes are put away, the pillows fluffed. Everything is tidied and put in its place. I silently pride myself on the completion of it all – another box checked; another goal fulfilled. These are little accomplishments I have a tendency to obsess over. Now, everything is as it should be.
The familiar saying to strive for progress, not perfection sounds in my mind, but I quickly ignore it. If I’m honest, my heart longs for progress that ends in perfection, resulting in growth that feels immediate – the ribbon tied neatly and the package gifted with a bow.
So, here I sit, in the stillness of my carefully arranged time with God. Everything is… perfect.
I breathe a sigh of relieved satisfaction. I have a hopeful feeling for my journaling today. It’s as though I’m screaming, “I’m ready now, God. Speak to me! Everything is finally in place for you to work!”
And it’s in this moment – between my sense of relief and my carefully planned readiness – that I recognize the lie I have slowly come to believe.
My relationship with God can sometimes become a series of perfectly prepared appointments. I make space for Him when I decide the moment is right – when my mind is emptied of its priorities and the tasks are checked. These orchestrated moments are prepared with good intentions, but instead of being an instrument ready to play its part, I try to be the conductor – deciding how the music will sound and when I should listen.
I’m learning that my presence doesn’t have to be perfect. Not every gift needs to have its bow…progress over perfection.
My desire for perfection leads me to seek satisfaction through accomplishment rather than being fulfilled by the only One who can truly and fully satisfy.
I believe the lie that I need to have it all together – to be enough and do enough – perfectly broken yet hopelessly attempting to look the most pieced together. How pathetic.
It is here that I realize: God never asks for my perfection, He only invites me into His presence.
God sent His Son, Jesus, in His perfection to be the ultimate sacrifice because He knows I am broken. When God sent His Son, Jesus, to die, He went to the cross not because I am perfect but because He knows I’m not!
Why do I still struggle to think I need to be? I don’t need to chase His affection when I already have it. His love is sufficient. His grace is constant. He doesn’t waver with my readiness or lack thereof.
God is perfect, so I don’t need to keep trying to be.
When I treat time with God like a scheduled programming, pressing pause and play when I choose, I limit my ability to hear Him throughout the different parts of my day – in the ordinary moments when I’m cooking dinner, or the interruptions when I’m at the office – in all the unfinished places of my heart that I need Him to show up in.
God doesn’t want my perfection. He wants my presence. And He isn’t waiting for me to be ready. He is simply waiting for me to be with Him. So, I must show up.
2 Comments
Karan Wingate
This is me. I’m not a perfectionist, but I do have a checklist. And I schedule time for the Lord Thank you for setting my priorities
Morghan Salvato
This is everything! Such an amazing reminder that, as a perfectionist myself, needed to read 🩷