“…It is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people” (Rom. 2:29, NLT).
Today, I found out that someone I know has recently achieved quite a distinguished accomplishment, accompanied by public honor. Immediately, the tempter tried to use this knowledge against me. He tried to get me to fall into the trap of comparing myself to that individual, and feeling shabby and less important as a result. Ever been there?
I am thankful because Daddy God helped me resist this temptation. As I sat with Him, I brought into His presence what was happening inside of me. I told Him about it honestly. As I quieted my heart before Him, He dropped this Scripture into my spirit. “Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God” (Rom. 2:29, NIV). With that came His Spirit-to-spirit communication. He imparted to me the beautiful truth that I have His praise. And that is all that I need. Recognition from my fellow human beings is not essential.
Our society will rise up and give special attention to those who are at “the top of their game.” It is so, so easy to fall into the comparison trap set for us based on this dynamic. We can listen to the enemy’s lie that we have less value because we have not received that kind of attention, or pulled off that kind of accomplishment.
Or…
We can pause and make space for Holy Spirit to speak His truth to our hearts. If we do, we will hear His life-giving whisper of approval. We will hear the voice of the One who says from heaven, “This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.”
And that will be enough. More than enough.
A concluding thought on this. According to Scripture, living this way is not just good for our emotional wellbeing. It’s also prerequisite to truly serving Jesus: “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” (Gal. 1:10, NLT).
Living for an audience of One is true freedom. It is also true discipleship.
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What is it like to feel God’s approval of you? What has your experience been?
Feeding On Jesus 
More than enough friend! So good an audience of one. His approval over all others. If he be for us who can be against us. Blessings
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Smiling joyfully at this comment too. Thank you so much!
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Thank you for sharing this Jennifer. This is genuinely something I have been working on – to let go of the trappings of seeking applause but doing it only for God.
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Amen. Jennifer, your testament reminds us that our Father doesn’t expect us to keep up with Jones’. He is well-pleased when we focus our attention on Him. Grace be with you.
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Those words spoke life to my spirit, thank you my dear brother!
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A-Men and thank you. Often in my life this issue has arisen, Praise GOD for the assurance pleasing Him is more important than any accolades of men. Blessings1
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Blessings to you too, Faye. May you hear His high praise in your heart tonight!
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Oh Lord you speaking about me but it’s alright 😂 some weeks back I saw a friend of mine had received something that I had not even wanted to have at that time but yo! The devil knows how to point to our failure in that moment. God came for a rescue mission on my behalf and so understand what you saying up there Jen. Be blessed for sharing 🙏
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I am so happy to know that this spoke to you in a life-giving way! I receive that blessing gratefully, thank you!
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