In our struggles with perfectionism, Psalm 103 offers much-needed words of hope. These are liberating words when our minds are filled with self-criticism, doubt, or fear. They point us to a God of mercy, who knows all of our imperfections, yet still loves us and includes us in His plans.

I’ve spent far too long obsessing over the opening sentence of this article, typing and deleting different options, before deciding that none of them are good enough. Welcome to the life of a perfectionist!

Being a perfectionist can be exhausting. Maybe you know this from your own experience. Perhaps there are areas of your life, work or relationships where you struggle with anything less than perfection. Do you ever get that feeling at the end of the day that you should have done more, and you should have done it better? Do you hear those critical voices of doubt in your mind when you try to accomplish something? Do you procrastinate over starting new projects because you know you won’t do them perfectly? Do you tend to dwell on small mistakes or the sense that you are not good enough?

If you can relate to any of those things, I want to offer you some hope as a fellow perfectionist. This won’t be a perfect article but it will introduce you to a perfect God: the God of the Bible, who knows all of our imperfections, yet still loves us and includes us in his plans.

One of my favourite psalms is Psalm 103. When I feel trapped by my perfectionism, I often come back to this psalm. It reminds me of three liberating truths about God.

A God of Mercy

I still remember my first visit to the headmaster’s office in Year 7. I hadn’t done anything wrong but I was still dreading what might happen. Maybe we think about God with that same sense of dread. We consider him a strict and volatile headteacher, ready to come down hard on us for even a minor violation of the uniform policy.

God is not like that:

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities
(Psalm 103:8, 10).

The perfect Lord of the universe is very aware of all of our imperfections and our failings. He knows all of our sins. He knows all the ways in which we have fallen short of the God-centred lives we were made for. Yet he does not treat us as we deserve. He shows us mercy.

We see this clearly in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus who came down from the perfection of heaven to bring hope to imperfect sinners. When we put our trust in Jesus, he wipes away our past mistakes and restores our relationship with our Creator. This means I can begin each new day knowing that I am loved and accepted by God. When I’m haunted by past regrets, Jesus helps me to leave them in the past.

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