You have seen that person walk in the room with their shirt perfectly pressed, tie squared and snugged to position at the collar, and not a hair out of place and then heard the whisper of thought gust through your mind, “That’s someone who has it all together.” And if we’re honest that’s the way we want people to look at us, and for the most part, we put on a pretty good show—but we know the truth. There are a few exceptions to this display of perfection, and those people will declare, “I don’t care what people think about me.” More than likely they do, but maybe they have experienced the exhaustion of keeping it all together, or maybe this attitude has been engrained in them since childhood. But most of us do care about the way we look and what others think, so we do our best everyday to present to the public the person we want them to see.
However, there are times we need the reminder that no one has it all together, so you can lighten up on yourself. No one knows what that man or woman who looks like they could be on the cover of any magazine struggles with behind the scenes of their life. I know what can go on behind the scenes and so do you if you think about it. It’s called struggle—and we all struggle with something. All that we see is the coverup of that struggle, but it’s there. It may be a struggle with guilt or low self-esteem. It is often the struggle with the way one looks or depression or anxiety. We makeover the struggle of failure and disappointments. We cover the struggle of addictions and fractured or broken relationships. We hide our sinful habits and fleshly desires. We cover selfish ambitions and our unwillingness to love as Christ has loved us. Don’t be fooled, this is what people do. So rest when you don’t have it all together, and silence that false notion when you see someone who appears to have it all together. Most of all, remember the way God sees you.
“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For [the LORD does] not [see] as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
What Jesus did on the cross was a coverup for each one of us. By His sacrificial death and the cleansing power of His blood, He covered all our sin. He is the One who had it all together because He knew we never could!