God’s Approval
Do you ever find yourself needing people’s approval?
Verse of the Day
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
Today’s Devotional
I know a few people who legitimately don’t care what other people think. (It is a very small number.) I am not one of those people. I wish I was. I wish I could live my life and not care what anyone thought, all the while maintaining my faith in such a way that my “not caring” did not come across as rude or indifferent.
Why do I care what people think? Because I want people to like me. I want people to think I am capable and funny and caring and Jesus-loving. And something inside of me has been telling me lies that I need people’s approval to be OK. And I have believed the lies. So I’m just going to preach to myself for a moment. Hopefully, some of this will ring true for you.
I cannot control what anyone thinks of me. Most of the time, I will never even know what anyone thinks. The danger comes from assuming that I know what someone might be thinking. And you know what they say about assuming…
The Bible says a few more things about this topic:
- Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. – Galatians 1:10
- Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. – Colossians 3:23
- For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. – 1 Thessalonians 2:4
If the motive of my heart is to please people and gain their approval, then my motives are wrong. By spending my time trying to please someone or anyone, I am not living out my mission. (Which is living for the glory of God and the good of others.)
I listened to a podcast the other day that spoke some really powerful things to me. I DO NOT NEED ANYONE’S PERMISSION TO LIVE OUT MY MISSION FOR GOD. I don’t need anyone’s permission to be the person God created me to be. My growth and transformation do not need to look the way others think it should. I needed to hear that.
When I peel back the spiritual onion and look at why I struggle with needing anyone’s approval, it is based in insecurity. Which means that I am not secure in who God says that I am. God says that I am loved exactly as I am today. Not how I think I should be. Not how anyone else thinks I should be. God says that I am chosen to be His. That means that I am on His team, not anyone else’s. God says that I am forgiven because of my belief in Jesus. That means that I do not have to live in shame or fear.
This verse says that wanting and needing the approval of others is a trap. It’s a trap that is difficult to escape and break free from. My first step toward freedom comes from acknowledging that I am in this trap. I need to recognize when my emotional distress is caused by wanting someone’s approval and fear that I don’t have that approval. Then I need to speak God’s truth to myself. For me, this is a process of repetition. Each instance of insecurity takes intentional repetition to break the fear. I have to remind myself of God’s truth over and over until the fear loses its hold on me. When that happens, my mind settles and I can rest in my trust that God says I am enough.
Today, I am going to trust that God put those verses in the Bible to remind me of Whose approval I need. Today, I am going to speak God’s truth over me every time the lies tell me that I need someone’s approval. Today, I am going to trust God when He tells me that I am enough. There is simplicity in choosing to trust God, in seeking His approval. God’s approval of us is ours, it is given. We simply have to choose to receive it and accept it. Every single day.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How do you find yourself struggling with needing or wanting the approval of others?
How does needing approval interfere with your trust in God?
How does it interfere with living out your mission?
How do you struggle with insecurity?
Do you trust what God says about you?
Do you trust God enough to confront the lies that you need anyone’s approval to be OK?