Let me ask you a question, friend. Do you seek the approval of God or the approval of man? Not sure the difference well let me explain.
The approval of man cares a lot about what people think (obviously). Currently, if this person is you; it’s ok. It’s me too! Fortunately enough our God is Faithful, and He’s gonna see the both of us through this.
At some point in time, every Christian is going to come face to face with this question. Now, whatever the Lord reveals in your heart will either have you praying for forgiveness and asking for help or rejoicing with thankfulness.
Either way thank God for Jesus!
Now I can only speak for myself, but I’ve known for a long time that this has been a mountain of mine. And quite frankly, I’m tired of it, and I’m ready to overcome it! Lol!
A while back, I started praying for the Lord to release me of people bondage, and I thought I was doing a decent job at keeping my eyes vertical (set on the Lord).
Boy oh boy was I wrong. That was a slice of humble pie! Unbeknownst to me, my sight once again transitioned to horizontal (people).
I found myself caring too much about what people thought of me, my marriage, my ministries, everything.
And you guessed it? It was a downward spiral from there.
I went from being wrapped up in people's opinions of me to desiring their approval and attention, including with my ministries and journey with the Lord.
In those moments of living for the approval of man, I felt shame, guilt, and overwhelming sadness.
But guess what? Our God forgives!
And guess what else? He also restores!
The Lord searched my heart and pointed out what offended Him. -Psalms 139: 23-24 NLT
It's comforting to know that we serve a God that not only loves us enough to point out what we’re doing wrong but then helps us to walk in the right path. I love that about Him!
In John 16:33, Jesus says, "To take heart for He has overcome the world."
I remind you of that scripture to encourage you because it encourages me.
There’s absolutely nothing that we’re dealing with that Jesus didn’t come face to face with first.
With that being said, if you’re battling with the approval of man like myself, Jesus isn’t surprised. Nor is He shocked that we messed up. However, we can’t stay here.
We must simply repent and ask for Him to help us to seek and choose him first above all else.
Let’s walk in the peace, love, and power that He so freely gives. Jesus loves you, friend and so do I.
Photos courtesy of: Kai Bell