Hi, I’m Mi’Kayla and I’m a perfectionist. While life is never perfect, growing up, I had this idea that if I stayed true to God that everything would be perfect. This thought process was both detrimental and limiting the nature of God.

Definitions of perfection imply that there are human conditions to achieving a flawless, sinless, and painless form. While God does offer grace, generosity, mercy, protection, and peace, his perfect-will does not align with our idea of perfection. I often use the analogy that if Job would’ve known that he would have had to lose everything to get double, would he have? Most people would say no because our perception of perfection doesn’t include trials or pain.

When we align our perspective with God’s, we’re able to see that perfection is never achieved until death. With this, tackling expectations and desires often cause anxiety and feelings of defeat. While we can do all things unto the Lord, we can still fall short of what we perceive to be the mark. Thankfully, progression/productivity is more important than the ideology and idolatry of perfection. Similarly, the pinnacle in each is persistence, which we can achieve.

The definition of progression is the process of developing or advancing. The definition of production is the action of curating or manufacturing from raw components.

Go down this rabbit hole with me if you will. First, when you accept Christ you are now on a journey. When along a journey, there should never be a place of stagnation or complacency. There should always be advancement and growth, even in waiting. This is why I stress so heavily the value of growth on this platform. Note, biblically speaking, even Daniel in the lion’s den was advancing though his physical position was not moving. In the same way, Joseph in the pit and the children of Israel in the desert were growing. So in our lives, we are always accelerating toward our “perfect” goal to be with Christ. I preface this to understand better the following. When we are living, building, and growing our relationships with God, we are simultaneously walking into the mission he has called for us. We should be producing something for the world, for we are the salt of the earth at a minimum. Thus, every step, every decision, every moment is the intersection of progression and production (even the wrong steps).

Frankly speaking, there is no giving up. There is no time out. Time never stops, and your mission still awaits. So even if making a hasty decision or resting, follow the direction of the Lord. In the same way, when you get tired, persistence is key.

I discussed last week that I often feel defeated by the lies of the enemy that shrewd my confidence in the value of my voice. At the end of the day, even if wrong, hard to write, or muffled by the circumstances of the world, I am called to be persistent in my progression/production. I must stop worshipping the idea of perfection and embrace the imperfection to grasp ahold of what God is cultivating in and through me.

I don’t know who needed this post, but I know I did. Perfect is not going to happen. There will always be someone richer, someone smarter, someone funnier, etc. (fill in whatever you’re struggling with), so a comparison is futile. But God has called each of us to the progression, production, and persistence of growth and work for His glory and our advancement.