Blessed

Blessed

“Am I now seeking human approval or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Galatians 1:10 NIV

I have a confession: I am a people pleaser. I want people to like me. I want everyone to think I’m nice. Misunderstandings make me cringe, and controversy makes me want to run and hide. When I was growing up, my parents expected me to do my best (not unnatural). So, I bent over backward to please my teachers, my peers, and my parents by always doing what was expected. I’ve always liked to blend in and not open myself up in a way that may cause other people to say, “Well, that’s weird.”

Now that I’m a pastor, I sometimes find myself wondering if I’m taking the church in the right direction, if I should be doing more as the pastor, and if I should be asking more from my church family.

I’m sure you know that we live in a world where approval matters. Just look at social media. X, Instagram, and Facebook are all geared around getting likes or having people tell us we’re winning at life. We want our homes to be beautiful, our kids to be on the honor roll, and our marriages to be awesome. In short, we want to appear to be blessed.

The problem is that we’ll always have critics. People will always find a way to criticize anything. We all want 5 stars on our reviews, not one. Sometimes our loudest critics are our own family members. Maybe you felt that you could never be smart enough or athletic enough. We should have been doctors. We can spend our entire lives trying to please our critics, and ultimately, they’ll never be satisfied. There’s always something else to criticize.

Which is why you and I need to remember that the only approval that matters is God’s. Nobody knows you like God knows you. You can’t know someone’s marriage or life unless you’ve lived it. We’re all good at putting on a brave face and acting like everything is okay even when we’re hurting inside. And since only God knows us inside and out, His approval is what matters.

What will make us stand out in this world is looking different. Our relationships should look different. Our kids should be raised to love Jesus and put Him first. We need to lay down what we want for what Jesus wants. That’s the key to living life with the security that can only come from God, because when our security comes from knowing who we are in Christ and what He has done for us, others’ opinions matter less. And we realize we’re so very loved.

I encourage you to find the purpose for which you were created and quit worrying about what others think. Because when we’re doing what God created us to do, we’ll find fulfillment that no worldly approval can offer. We become secure in the choices we make for ourselves in our marriages, with our children, and in our careers, knowing that we have the approval of the only One who matters, the only One we’ll stand in front of at the end of our lives and from whom we hope to hear, “Well done.”

Thanks for reading Pastor Dale’s Mid-Week Encouragement.  If you’re a regular attender of the Mt. Laurel Church of God, consider reading Haggai 2: 1-9 to get yourself ready to hear God’s message through Pastor Dale this coming Sunday, November 9.

Called to know the Way, go the Way, and show you the Way,

^{Pastor Dale}

Pastor Dale (PD) and Pamela his wife are honored to serve the Mt. Laurel Church of God. If this Mid-Week Encouragement has helped you, perhaps it may encourage someone else. Feel free to share this message with anyone you choose. And if you'd like to receive PD's Mid-Week Encouragement, just send an email to (kingdomguy@gmail.com) and I'll accommodate your request.