Excerpted From
Love Changes Everything
By Micah Berteau
There is a pressure that surrounds all of us. We feel it at a consistent rate, most of the time on a daily basis. It is difficult to define and just as hard to ignore. We often do not know whether it is healthy or not. Nor do we know whether it comes from God or from within ourselves. It is the pressure to impress, to be something we are not and look good for people who are not watching. It is the pressure to keep up with other people’s status. It is the pressure to be more, do more and have more at younger ages than ever before. It is the pressure that gets us in a rush to go where we have no directions. It is the pressure that a mom feels to have her house in perfect order and her kids behaving better. It is the pressure that steals our gratitude and substitutes discontentment. It is the pressure that causes you to live above your means because you have not learned how to act your wage. It is the pressure in ministry to have the biggest church in your city, your state or even the country. It is the pressure to be well received and gain influence while measuring your success by social media. It is the pressure to perform for your boss, to be a great Christian in the eyes of others, and to keep up with a life God has not yet given you the grace for.
The most valuable thing you can do is to run at the pace God sets and not try to speed that up. The moment you attempt to outpace God, you start feeling this unnecessary pressure. I believe pressure can be very important for growth in life and as a believer. Pressure can pull the best out of you, especially in intense moments, but only when it causes you to trust that God will come through because of the opportunity in front of you. The pressure to impress no one, however, will drag you down.
Your goal should not be to impress, but to submit. When you are fully submitted to the ways and will of God, you will be impressive. But you will be impressive not because of what you strive for but what you are living in. Let the following statement free you of the burden you have been carrying: You have nothing to lose and nothing to prove.
Let me say that again for all my speed readers. You have nothing to lose and nothing to prove.
This statement changed my life and it can change yours too. It is founded in the loving heart of Jesus, because with God you have nothing to lose and nothing to prove. You do not need to live your life in the fear of what you might lose. You do not need to live one more day in the chains of a perspective that is causing you to live a safe life. You cannot lose with God, because he has never lost. And what you think is losing, God may call learning. Or as I like to say, “You don’t win some and lose some. You win some and learn some.” Lead your life in the love of God and you will see that you have nothing to lose.
You also have nothing to prove. This pressure to impress no one is a rampant disease that is taking over our hearts and minds. You have nothing to prove to your social media followers. You have nothing to prove to people who believe you should be farther ahead in life.
You do need to live up to the call of God on your life, but that is a process. And while you are in this process, you don’t have to prove to anyone what God spoke in your spirit. God is the one who can piece your life together and make you stand out. You can literally or figuratively shout and jump for people to notice you, yet it seems to fail every time. Why? Because God wants you to be content in his presence before you arrive at his promise.
Jesus loves you, this you do know. At least now you do. Whatever is holding you back, release it and live for the audience of One. And from here on out, when you hear the statement “Jesus loves you,” let it move you and challenge you to always live and abide in this everlasting love.
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