Once we understand that God’s love for us is based on what Christ did for us rather than what we do ourselves, the struggle is over. Now we can stop ‘performing’, and we can serve God because we know He loves us and that we don’t need to try to make Him love us. We no longer fear rejection by Him because of our mistakes. When we do something wrong, now all we do is repent, receive God’s forgiveness, and then refuse the condemnation that sin brings.

Realising we are loved and accepted even though we’re imperfect is such a relief! Serving God out of desire rather than obligation is incredibly liberating! The moment you place your trust in Christ, God sees you as righteous from that point on. He doesn’t accept you because of your performance but because of your relationship with Him through Christ. And you need to decide to believe it and stand on it.

A noted minister writes: ‘We become what we believe we are; therefore, as we become convinced that we are right with God, our behaviour will improve. We will do things right and with less effort. No matter what other people may have told you that you are not, God delights in telling you in His Word who you are in Him – loved, valuable, precious, talented, gifted, capable, powerful, wise, and redeemed. Take a moment and repeat those nine things aloud. Say, “I am loved, valuable, precious, talented, gifted, capable, powerful, wise, and redeemed.”’

That’s how God sees you, and it’s how you need to start seeing yourself.