You are preapproved.–Jennifer Dukes Lee, Love Idol {book}
As women we’re so vulnerable to expectations, aren’t we? We carry checklists around in our purses and even more in our hearts. On them we silently write what we believe it will take to be the perfect friend, wife, daughter, Christian, woman. We work so hard to keep up, and yet at the end of the day it’s never done.
What if we decided together to shred those expectations? We can, you know. Because here’s a little secret: expectations are nothing more than the modern-day version of living under the law. And you are no longer under the law. You are under grace.
Grace that replaces those lists with love. Grace that sees past our efforts to our hearts. Grace that invites us not to routines and regulations but to a relationship.
We don’t have to prove ourselves. We have already been declared “approved” by God. Not because of how “good” we are but because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. All the laws, all the expectations, were nailed there with him. And when he rose again three days later, we were declared to be free forever.
You are accepted. I am accepted. And love is no longer a reward for our behavior but instead a gift offered by nail-scarred hands. So let’s drop the lists we’re clutching and cling to what he longs to bring to our lives instead.
Wherever you are right now, take a deep, slow breath. Let it out again, and as you do, think of all those expectations slipping away too.
Every “I should . . .”
Each “I must . . .”
All the “I have to’s . . .”
Replace them instead with this:
“Because Jesus loves me, I will . . .”
“Because he fully accepts me, I can . . .”
“Because he promises me everything I need, I get to . . .”
When we live that way, our expectations are exchanged for exclamations—declarations from deep within our hearts and lives that tell the world we serve a God of grace.
XOXO
If you’ve ever struggled with the need for approval, then Love Idol by Jennifer Dukes Lee will help set your heart free. You can find out more about the book here!
p.s. Do you live in the Northeast? I’ll be at the Winsome retreat in a couple of weeks and would love to see you there!
