1 Corinthians 1:30  But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption:

2 Corinthians 5:21  Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

I am a person who is driven and because I rarely can be still I am always trying to pursue perfection.  I am hard on myself in some ways and not as hard on myself in other ways as maybe I should be.  Still, most of the time I wrestle with not having done enough, wondering what I could have done differently, or still wondering what I could do to make things better in the future.  I do not know why I am like this though I suspect it has a great deal to do with my military like childhood, I believe it is also just part of the way I am wired.

Because of my particular personality I have a real tough time accepting some of the blessings Heaven offers. At the top of this list is the gift of eternal righteousness that God offers every believer. When I get weighed down wounded in the war against sin my first instinct is to withdrawal and to get stuck in my head as to what I could be doing different?  And I do not think that that is always a bad thing because we are encouraged in scripture to examine ourselves to see if we are acting in accordance with our faith.  But other times we are also encouraged to be still and rest in the knowledge that Christ has given us a perfection of righteousness that liberates the heart from the need to perform to get God’s approval.  I am a performance based personality and this has been beaten into my head throughout my life.  I know what the gospel says and I believe in salvation by grace through faith, but when it comes right down to it, when I feel weak and vulnerable, I revert to my old way of thinking and it is not until I come to God on the merits of Jesus that I begin to feel that touch of His Spirit in my life once more.

We are free from the accusations of the enemy and it does not matter who he uses to deliver them. We are free to draw near to God in our moments of deepest need and all because the Father turned His back on His own Son that He might turn His attentions toward us, even when we feel a million miles away from anything holy and good!

I know how ugly the fight against sin can be.  I also understand how ugly the persecutions of the enemy can be. I also know that I have to continually come back to this simple truth remembering that no matter how difficult this life may get, I am a child of God clothed in His righteousness, and I will forever be His and nothing can ever take me away from Him.  What peace there is in reminding ourselves of His great love!

Quote of the day:  Despair over our imperfections is a greater obstacle than the imperfections themselves.  Fenelon