Inspiration

And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 

When God spoke the words of today’s Scripture, Jesus hadn’t started His ministry yet. He had never performed a single miracle or spoken one of His sermons. His Father was pleased with Jesus because of who He was and not because of anything He had done. 

We tell ourselves, “If I prayed more or broke this bad habit or went to church more, I would feel good about myself.” You have to learn to accept yourself while you’re in the process of changing. We all have areas we need to improve, but we’re not supposed to go around down on ourselves because we haven’t arrived. You may not be perfect, but God is not basing your value on your performance. He’s looking at your heart. You have to shake off the guilt. You’re growing. You’re making progress. Do yourself a big favor and quit listening to the accusing voices. That’s the enemy trying to convince you to be against yourself. He knows that if you don’t like yourself, you will never become who God created you to be. 

“Father, thank You that Your amazing love and approval of me is not based on my performance. Thank You that I can refuse to let guilt and condemnation keep me from staying close to You. I declare that I am growing and becoming the person You created me to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”