Honestly, I am exhausted. I feel like I am failing. I walk around trying my very best to love people and pour into them with everything that I am. But the minute I leave the crowds of people, I have a deep fear that everybody hates me. I have this knot in my stomach that they know something about myself that I don't know. That the whole world perceives me as a fake, or a liar. I live in this fear that the world is going to find me out. Like on the outside I put up this wall of perfection, and someday people will find out the depth of my brokenness.

HA! We are all so broken. It is so silly to hide behind perfection.

Not. A. Single. Person. Besides. Jesus. Is. Perfect.

By me pretending that I can just will my way into perfection, I am denying my intrinsic need for Jesus. We need him. He came to Earth because everybody needs him. None of us are good enough by ourselves. He died, knowing every sin we ever have and will commit. If Jesus loves us that much, to still look into our eyes and say, "I love you" and to be willing die on the cross for you, then don't you think that he can use your brokenness for his good?

So often when I slip into sin, I find myself praying prayers like, "free me from this sin, Jesus" and "show up and break the chains of this thing that is tripping me up." HE HAS. We are free. He died for our freedom years ago. Believe that my friends. We don't have to live in the lies that we are only partly free. We are COMPLETELY free. Start dwelling in the love that God has for you.

The other night, my devotional struck me, and overwhelmed me with the understanding of the love Jesus has for us,

"The Lord formed me from the beginning, before he created anything else. I was appointed in ages past, at the very first, before the earth began. I was born before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters. Before the mountains were formed, before the hills, I was born— before he had made the earth and fields and the first handfuls of soil. I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans. I was there when he set the clouds above, when he established springs deep in the earth. I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when he marked off the Earth's foundations, I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence. And how happy I was with the world he created; how I rejoiced with the human family!" Proverbs 8:22-31 NLT.

The God of the universe who holds back the oceans. The man who rose the mountains into existence. He calls us his children. He knows how many hairs are on your head. He created the air that fills our lungs, and he looks at us and says, "I love you, you are my beloved." That is the truest form of freedom. The understanding of the love Jesus has for us sets us free. Let me be the first to tell you, Jesus loves you so much. Let his love set you free.