By Gena Barnhill @BarnhillGena
Do you know people driven by a performance mindset who believe they must work harder to gain God’s acceptance and forgiveness for their mistakes?
Over forty years ago, that person was me. I believed the enemy’s lie that I needed to perform to gain the Lord’s approval. I did not realize I was working for something the Lord had already given me. He loved me, and I did not need to strive for His love and acceptance. I already had it. I was unaware of my true identity in Christ. Striving to be good enough is exhausting, and it never works. We set ourselves up for an unattainable goal.
Are You Driven by a Performance Mindset #Perfectionism #healing #prayer”
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Characteristics of a Performance-based Mindset
- Striving for perfection
- Never feeling good enough
- Believing our worth is connected to our achievements
- Working to the point of exhaustion
- Feeling overly discouraged after receiving a less-than-perfect evaluation
- People pleasing
- Desiring others to see us as good
- Focusing on our mistakes
- Fearing failure
- Feeling paralyzed, which can lead to inaction
What Are the Origins of a Performance Mindset?
Our country was founded on the ideals of independence. We are familiar with terms such as the” self-made person” and the people who “picked themselves up by their bootstraps” to get to where they are today. We learn to develop a strong work ethic and do our best from our culture, family, teachers, and workplace. When we perform well, others reinforce us through verbal praise, salary raises, promotions, and good grades and scholarships. These reinforcements lead to our increased effort and performance. The enemy then twists this and plants thoughts to convince us we are not doing enough and must try harder.
Cautions Regarding a Performance Mindset
The danger in a performance-based mindset is we can become attached to the approval or rejection of others. This can open the door to the enemy and his lies about us. The only approval we need is the Lord’s. We already have His approval. Yet, we often try to earn what He, in His mercy, already gave us. Psalm 139 states God knew us before we were born, and He intimately knows and cares for us.
When we seek success by trying to perform perfectly, success can become an idol. Anything or anyone we put ahead of God is an idol. God created us in excellence. The enemy distorts this truth convincing us our perfection is required to gain the Lord’s approval. When we strive to gain God’s approval, we are not secure in our true identity in Christ.
Another danger of a performance mindset is believing we are the source of our excellent performance. When our identity is in Christ, we partner with Him and ask for His assistance. Our outstanding performance gives God the glory not us.
Benefits of a Performance Mindset
Coaches know that outstanding performance requires focus and a performance mindset. Athletes need to set goals, establish priorities, and practice skills. Coaches stress the importance of consistency and self-discipline to their athletes. These same behaviors are critical in our relationship with the Lord. We must consistently spend time with Him to recognize His voice in our lives and His will. However, our performance is not based solely on ourselves. The Lord will guide us if we let Him. He wants to partner with us. We can benefit from a performance mindset when we credit the Lord for our performance with His guidance.
Focus on Our Spiritual Identity
Our spiritual identity is in Christ and is based on His finished work on the cross, not on our performance or merit. Ephesians 1: 3-6 (ESV) tells us we have been adopted into God’s family through Jesus.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
We continue to give our best effort in our tasks because we want to honor and glorify God, not because we are trying to earn His acceptance.
Comfort from the Scriptures
Ephesians 2:19 says, So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. We have a place in God’s family.
When speaking about the Lord in 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul wrote, But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. We can take comfort in our inadequacies because they remind us of our total dependence on God.
God’s view of success is seeking a relationship with Him and allowing His power to be made perfect in us. The enemy wants us to believe we must compare ourselves to others so that we feel unworthy and either spend enormous energy striving for perfection or giving up. Either result keeps us separated from God, which is the enemy’s goal.
Second Corinthians 9:8 says, And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. God, in His grace and mercy, has given us all we need.
The Scriptures tell us we are:
- chosen
- adopted
- loved
- redeemed, and
- forgiven by God.
We can REST in our identity in Christ by:
R– recognizing our striving behavior and acknowledging we need true freedom in Christ.
E– engaging with the Lord in prayer and repenting for striving for His love. He promises forgiveness when we truly repent.
S- staying in His presence. Ask the Lord to show you how to abide in Him. Find Bible verses that describe who you are in Christ and repeat them aloud.
T– thanking the Lord for His grace and power that works best in our weaknesses. Say to the Lord, “I acknowledge my true identity and thank You for who I am in Christ.
Before I share a prayer with you, I would love for you to have an opportunity to chime in with your thoughts. How have you seen a performance mindset and striving for perfection impact yourself or others?
Be sure to share your thoughts in our Facebook Group Healing Prayer Discussion.
We are all stronger when we learn from each other. I look forward to your input.
Blessings,
Gena
Prayer
Lord, I come to You acknowledging I have not always walked in my true identity as a child of God. Please forgive me for trying to gain what You already freely gave me when You chose and adopted me into Your family. Help me to abide and rest in You. Lord, Your grace is sufficient for me, and Your power is demonstrated through my weakness. I am completely dependent on You. When the enemy tries to tell me I need to strive more to overcome my weaknesses, please remind me of who You say I am— Your chosen, adopted, loved, redeemed, and forgiven child.
*Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV).
**Editor’s Note: This post originally published on March 20, 2023, was revamped for comprehensiveness.
In case you missed the rest of the Healing Ancestral Wounds Series, here is the link to the Archives:
https://simpleeffectiveprayer.com/category/healing-ancestral-wounds/
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