I approve of you.

In life there are two very real things: we have a Father who loves us very much, who calls us into His Kingdom and we have an enemy who attacks us, tries to disqualify us and make us feel unworthy of the Father’s love. 

We live in a world where there is virtually no privacy. People’s business is all over the internet. With so much stuff on the internet it is easy to look at other people’s lives and feel like we do not measure up to some impossible unspoken standard. Today God says to us that He approves of us. We do not need to go and seek validation from people. Our validation comes from Christ. 

A couple of days ago we spoke about how God knows us. Not only does He know us, He understands us. If you are living life the way that God wants you to live your life, you do not need someone to pat you on the back and tell you that you are doing a good job. Rest assured that God is proud of you. You just do what God asked you to do or what He called you to do knowing that He approves of you and His approval is the only one that matters. 

So often we look around to see how many people like what we are doing or think it’s a great idea but sometimes if we wait to get peoples approval we may miss out on divine appointments. God sometimes tells us to do things that do not make any logical sense to anybody else but God. Knowing that our ultimate approval comes from Him, we should not let people’s opinions get in the way of what God is trying to do in our lives. 

God picked David as king over Israel. He sent the prophet Samuel to David’s father’s house to anoint David as king. When Samuel got there, David’s own father, did not even think to call David to the line up of his sons to see who would be anointed king. David’s father did not approve of David as the next king so he did not even consider him calling him from the fields when the prophet came to his house. However, David’s fathers issues concerning David, did not stop God from anointing David king over Israel. David had God’s approval and that is all he needed to be anointed king and he went on to serve as a great king in Israel for many years (see 1 Samuel 16:1-13).

It is easy to get caught up trying to impress people. However, the only person you ever need to impress is God. God is the One who opens doors, He is also the One who closes them. When God approves of you, people’s opinion of you will not stop God from moving in your life. People change their minds all the time, God has His mind made up about you. Do not let fear, shame or anything in your past hold you back from what God is calling you to do. We have right standing with God (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). When God looks at us, He sees us the same way He sees Jesus. When we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, His light covers over our darkness and we stand before God, righteous and approved. 

A few days ago we talked about being forgiven. Today let us look to the One who cleanses us from all sin and says to us, “I approve of you” and stand confident that God is for us.