God Equips According to His Plan
My name is Jennifer, and I’m a perfectionist.
I think in today’s modern world, many of us are. We see so many perfectly crafted images online, and we want the same for ourselves, our families, and our homes. And so we take great measures to make things just so.
Like folding our towels a certain way to create a perfectly filled linen closet. Or redoing the wording on that farmhouse sign over and over again because the lettering was slightly off. Or making sure our kids’ hair is perfectly styled before we leave the house so that others don’t question our parenting abilities.
Those things might be fine things to pay attention to sometimes, but when we let those things become the big things that demand focus for too long, we become prisoners of our own perfectionism. We can start to seek approval from others or even ourselves for being perfect enough, rather than focusing on God and the plans that He has for us and our lives.
This post may contain affiliate links. Learn more here.
God Equips According to His Plan
Hebrews 13:20-21
20Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen
The problem with perfectionism is that it can hold us back from even starting. If I don’t feel adequately equipped to tackle a task to perfect completion, I am hesitant to even begin.
If I begin a task but make a mistake, I take it as proof that I was not equipped to tackle that task. I embarrassingly admit that I have given up on so many projects that I’ve started because I didn’t like how they were turning out. Rather than learning from my perceived mistakes, I took them as factual evidence of my inadequacy.
But dear friends, this a lie!
Not only does God equip us with the good things we need to do His will, but He also provides us with peace when we are in His will. Even when the world around us seems to be crashing down; even when the storm is raging; we can have God’s unexplainable peace in our lives when we align ourselves under His will. We can feel ill-equipped for the tasks that He has laid out for us, but when our focus is in the right place, we are capable of completing what God has set for us.
Romans 8:6
6For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
When we set our focus on our own inadequacies, our flesh, of course we will fail! Simply because we are relying on our own strength. But when God calls us to His will, He’s not asking us to use our own strength. He’s asking us to rely on His strength.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
God knows everything about me. He knows what I’m good at, and He knows exactly where I struggle. My job isn’t to argue with God and explain why I’m not equipped to complete the things He’s asked me to do. My job is to recognize that I am weak and to rely on God’s strength and trust in His plan. God equips according to His plan.
God, thank you for being the God of peace. Thank you for equipping us with what we need to complete the tasks you have planned for us.
It is an honor and a joy to be representatives for you. What a blessing to be called by you for your purposes. We pray for bravery and courage to take the next step when we are afraid, and we pray for your guidance to complete your callings for our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.
God definitely asks us to do things that we aren’t equipped to do. And that is by design. If I were to rely on my own ideals of perfectionism, very little would actually get done in my life. Instead, God asks us to do things, we say yes, and then God equips according to His plan. It’s not easy to walk away from wanting everything I do to be perfect, but God is perfect, so I guess I’m as close to perfection as I can get when I’m following Him.
Blessings Friend.
Want to remember the prayers you’ve had and the answers you’ve received? Sign up below to receive the free prayer journal. You’ll also get access to my library, full of free printable and cut files. Sign up below!
