Satisfaction

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about a woman's sense of accomplishment; the feeling we get at the end of the day, when we look back and decide whether our day was a success, or a failure. Surely, you know what I mean...the moment you head for the shower after all the kids are in bed, and the quiet settles in, and you start to recount all the things you *didn't* get done, all the ways you were not-so-cheerful to your family, or maybe how your day at work was full of road blocks.  Or maybe it's just me...

I was thinking about all this as I prepared a little devotional for a sweet friend who was about to deliver baby #2. So, I dug through my old journals and found the year and months when my #2 was born, way back in 2006...And what did I find, but those same feelings--overwhelmed at life's responsibilities, the never ending checklist that never gets checked, and the burden of feeling like I had no prayer life, except for the quick meal time/bed time prayers I prayed with my children. I was dealing with those same feelings of not being able to see results of my day's work, and being discouraged (or just feeling stressed because I had a constipated baby!!!)



But what is God's perspective on these thoughts--what does God want me to do with these feelings? How does He want me to view my work, my personal sense of satisfaction?

Getting to the heart of this involves asking a first question, "Who's approval am I after?" My own? My husband's? My children's? The other woman who seems to have it all together?

2 Corinthians 5:9 says, 

"Therefore, we make it our aim...

to be well pleasing to Him."

  

I need to preach this to myself, and keep it in perspective, that my aim is to be pleasing to the Lord, not to man, or myself. It truly never satisfies if I'm trying to gain my own approval, or someone else's. Ultimately, I want my life to be pleasing to the Lord. It’s not about me, it’s about Him. So often I have to remember to turn my eyes off of myself and onto Jesus,  remembering that He is the God of my salvation, Christ’s righteousness covers me, and I am approved of by God because of the accomplished work of Christ on the cross, not my outward accomplishments.

Isn't that comforting? Yes, turn from your sins, the ones that plague you day in and day out, and work hard on them. Yes, do your earthly work, and seek to do it well. But ultimately, remember that if you have repented and turned to Him for salvation, then you are approved of because of Him, and Him only, not based on anything you have done or will do. It's all of Him, and none of me. 

Take this to heart momma, wife, single lady, at the beginning and end of everyday...

(and there's more, but I'll save it for another post...)