Believing we must perform perfectly to be accepted is a snare of the enemy; it is not from God. I have lived in the performance-acceptance trap for many years because I was addicted to approval. I felt if I performed well, then God and others would accept me and approve of me. I did not feel good about myself, nor did I accept myself unless my performance was exceptional. When I did not perform well, I automatically assumed God was disappointed with me, because experience had taught me to expect such behavior from the people around me and I believed God was just like they were. God does not reject us when we don’t perform well, but if we think He does, if we fear He does, that lie becomes truth to us, because we believe it.
Even today, I struggle with the performance acceptance trap. But what I have learned from studying God’s Word is that I must trust His Word more than my own feelings. We often bow down to our feelings without realizing how fickle and unreliable they are. God loves us and accepts us unconditionally. His love is not based on our performance; he does not “grade” us. The truth is our faith in Jesus, not our performance, is what makes us acceptable to God and pleases Him.
