God’s Approval Over Man’s Approval
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. – Galatians 1:10
It’s one thing to say that we should be open to God speaking and moving in unorthodox ways, but it’s another thing to live it. And Hosea, the prophet of God, had to be embarrassed when his relationship and marriage fell outside societal norms.
Can you imagine the conversation when Hosea sat down with his parents to tell them that his new bride was a prostitute? Can you imagine the conversation when he told his friends about his new girl, and he learned that several of them had used her services? Talk about embarrassment. Talk about shame. Talk about the feeling of failure as you have to walk around every day carrying the weight of a life that’s not approved by the public.
But maybe that’s the point. God wants us to reach a point in our relationship with Him where we are willing to be disapproved by people if it means being approved by God. We should have the mentality that we’d rather have God’s approval than the world’s approval any day.
Had Hosea listened to his family, his friends, and other people, he would have missed out on what God was trying to demonstrate through his life. A commitment to God’s will requires us to have a strong relationship with God to be able to sustain the disapproval of men. It is better to look foolish in the eyes of men and be accepted in the eyesight of God. Sometimes Gods will for our lives manifests in ways that are unexpected and unusual.
Sadly, many people miss God’s will because they get frustrated when God doesn’t speak or act in the way they think He should. That’s why you can’t compare what God is doing in your life to what God is doing in the life of others. You’re going miss God if you subject God’s will for you to what God did for someone else.
Just because your best friend got married before she was 30, doesn’t mean that’s the outcome for you. Just because your fraternity brother got rich by 40 doesn’t mean that’s the path for you. This is why our prayer should be, “Anyway you bless me Lord I’ll be satisfied.”
It’s one thing to say that we should be open to God speaking and moving in unorthodox ways, but it’s another thing to live it. And Hosea, the prophet of God, had to be embarrassed when his relationship and marriage fell outside societal norms.
Can you imagine the conversation when Hosea sat down with his parents to tell them that his new bride was a prostitute? Can you imagine the conversation when he told his friends about his new girl, and he learned that several of them had used her services? Talk about embarrassment. Talk about shame. Talk about the feeling of failure as you have to walk around every day carrying the weight of a life that’s not approved by the public.
But maybe that’s the point. God wants us to reach a point in our relationship with Him where we are willing to be disapproved by people if it means being approved by God. We should have the mentality that we’d rather have God’s approval than the world’s approval any day.
Had Hosea listened to his family, his friends, and other people, he would have missed out on what God was trying to demonstrate through his life. A commitment to God’s will requires us to have a strong relationship with God to be able to sustain the disapproval of men. It is better to look foolish in the eyes of men and be accepted in the eyesight of God. Sometimes Gods will for our lives manifests in ways that are unexpected and unusual.
Sadly, many people miss God’s will because they get frustrated when God doesn’t speak or act in the way they think He should. That’s why you can’t compare what God is doing in your life to what God is doing in the life of others. You’re going miss God if you subject God’s will for you to what God did for someone else.
Just because your best friend got married before she was 30, doesn’t mean that’s the outcome for you. Just because your fraternity brother got rich by 40 doesn’t mean that’s the path for you. This is why our prayer should be, “Anyway you bless me Lord I’ll be satisfied.”
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