What makes messy beautiful? It’s not being messy itself. It’s God loving us through it. That doesn’t make the messy beautiful. It makes God beautiful. And it doesn’t make the messy OK.
In the beginning of my marriage and early years of motherhood, I was intentional about my life and my relationships. I made certain to go out of my way to help my husband. I determined to at least try to be a better mom.
Somewhere down the line, though, I started reading material, be it blogs or books, that told me it was OK to be comfortable in my mess. And somewhere along the way, I believed it.
One popular message I see often is, “God loves you right where you are.” This can be misleading, because yes, God’s love is unconditional, but that doesn’t mean He wants us to remain where we are. It’s kind of like raising children. We love our children even though they are childish and immature right now. But we love them so much, we couldn’t possibly allow them to grow into adults acting like children. People tend to forget to convey the second part of the message.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 1 Corinthians 13:11
I gradually stopped trying so hard and began to let go of a life that required work–spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Instead, I ended up lazy. Any time any work was required of me, I became upset for being bothered. I remained stuck in my mess because people told me that was OK.
It’s not OK.
Recently, this way of thinking and living came to a head in my life. It hit me just how unhappy I have been remaining in my messy state. For me, it’s not a comfortable place to be. Not because I’m self-righteous. Oh no, far from it. I can be pretty hard on myself.
No, it’s because God has called me to something greater, and instead I was satisfied with complacency–yet, I wasn’t. My wheels spun, but I went nowhere. And it frustrated me to no end! I cried out to God so often, “God. What’s wrong with me?!” And God, in His great patience and mercy, just quietly waited.
He waited for me to bring my mess to Him and lay it down so I could be free to live for Him better, rather than remain in my mess and grumble about it. Because that’s what I did. It wasn’t pretty, folks.
My goal is not perfection; it’s progression. I should not remain satisfied with where I am. We are going to be messy. But we should never be content to remain there.
God compels us to keep moving forward; keep growing, keep running the race of righteousness.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
Being satisfied with our mess is no different then giving up. Otherwise we would keep moving and yes, striving. Will we sometimes fall. Yes! Sometimes our lives do get a bit messy. We simply can’t remain satisfied staying there. I’m pretty sure we will be miserable. I know I was, and discerning from what I have read of others, they seem less than content with their state of mess as well. Regardless that they choose to remain there.
There is too much mediocrity out there, because it’s easy to be mediocre. I choose to refuse such a life. God has given me too much to waste it.
The Bible talks about living a life worthy of the calling He has given us (Eph. 4:1), throwing off everything that hinders, and running the race God has set before us (Heb. 12:1).
Are we to recognize our mess? Yes. Absolutely. Recognizing our need for Jesus is where humility comes in.
But don’t be content to stay there. You were meant for so much more.
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