One of the biggest misconceptions that we have as mothers, as women, is that we have to be everything. Do all, be all, wrapped up in a nice little package complete with a perfect mom bun bow. We strive for a concept of perfection that exists in our minds but not in reality. If you look behind the Instagram perfect pictures, those families have their moments of tantrums, missed naps, messy houses, failure and heart ache just like everyone else. The ones who seem perfect on the outside are usually hiding a misery on the inside.
We also think that in order to be successful at this do all, be all perfection we have to do it by ourselves. There is a lie that the enemy has circulated for decades, and he is winning with it. He has succeeded in his attempt to make the world believe a truth about God that is in fact, a lie. When we are walking through a struggle we tell it to ourselves. When a friend is walking through something we quickly remind them of it. We point to it in scripture and share it as a comforting truth to get us through the tough seasons of life. 1 Corinthians 10:13 states that God is faithful; and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear (NIV). This is the basis for the lie that we so quickly rush to comfort one another with. The scripture is truth, as it is the living breathing word of God and God cannot lie, for it is against his nature. But we have manipulated this verse and changed the words. When we comfort someone in the midst of a struggle we don't tell them that God will not allow them to be tempted beyond what they can resist. We tell them that God will not give them more than they can handle. I think that we can see repeatedly throughout scripture that there is no truth to that statement. The scriptures are filled with instances of strong and faithful men of God being given more than what they are able to handle on their own. If we were able to handle everything that life through at us completely on our own, how would mercy and grace play into it? 2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us that His grace is sufficient for us, for His power is made perfect in our weakness (NIV). We're not She-Ra. We're not Wonder Woman. We were never meant to carry the burden of this life on our own. God created us to be in relationship with Him, to cast our cares on Him, and to allow His strength to be made perfect in us. It's HIS work in and through us that allows us to succeed in life.
So let's unburden ourselves from the weight of that pressure and allow ourselves to be weak so that God's strength and power can be made perfect in us. Let's stop the negative self talk that happens because we fail at having it all together and start allowing the truth of who God's word says we are permeate our being and our lives. God is for you. He is with you. He goes before you and prepares a way. His Holy Spirit is an encourager. He literally is encouragement. Let Him change your self-talk into mat-talk. Start to believe who you are in Him and the power that you have in His name to overcome the enemy.
In the Send Help Podcast episode "You're Not She-Ra", Amanda and Kristy dive deep into mat talk and the lie that God will not give you more than you can handle. Join them from any popular podcast platform, or listen to them on their website at www.thesendhelppodcast.com/podcast
