CHASING AFTER THE WIND
“I have seen all the things thot are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14, NIV).
My friend Anne says we should be careful not to pursue our sense of personal worth like a dog chases its own tail. Success at work, as a couple, or in educating our children is not the barometer of our personal value. However, it’s so easy to let it become
that!
Christian author Timothy Keller, in his book Counterfeit Gods, warned us of this very danger, by stating that more than other idols, “personal success can lead to a sense that we ourselves are God, . . . We might even go so far as to expect our achievement to keep us safe from the troubles of life (we are untouchable).”
We all want to be successful in what we do, but if our identity depends solely on this, we will sacrifice our family, our health, and will always be tired. The sadistic and cruel god of success demands every drop of blood and sweat you possess, but is never satisfied. It makes you run like a hamster on a wheel, never getting anywhere. To rid us of this slavery, God asks us to worship Him alone.
Learning to worship God only is a healing process in which we discover and uproot false identities like weeds in a garden. Success, being a couple, motherhood, beauty, anything we think about as “if I achieve this, I will have value as a person” is a false identity. When we worship God, the rain of the Holy Spirit falls, softens our hearts, and allows the divine Gardener’s tender hands to pull out the weeds.
We can’t earn our identity as daughters that God bestows upon us with personal, academic, or professional accomplishments. It is a gift. That’s why we can survive both success and failure. It allows us to be humble and confident at the same time: humble, because Christ died for our sins; trusting, because we are accepted by the Beloved. Our identity in Jesus frees us from the pride of «earning» our value and also from the shame of failure.
Dear Father, worshiping only You is the medicine my soul needs.
What I worship transforms me into its image, and I want to be more like You.
I Want to accept my identity as Your beloved daughter and receive Your freedom.
Success and failure do not define me as a person:
they could never buy or lose my value because the price is infinitely higher. My value is assured on the cross, tattooed forever in the hands of Jesus.
#WomensDevotional
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Take From: Devotional Thoughts for Women 2022
«NO FEARS»
BY: VANEZA PISSUTO
Collaborators: Alexandra Pérez & Angelica Cuate.