Approval & Rest

Whew! Anyone else feel like they’re being pulled in a variety of directions! Not sure why April tends to get a little crazy, but the schedules sure seem to fill up quickly! Especially for those with active kiddos running around!

So what do approval and rest have to do with this busy season?

The Lord has been kindly and patiently answering this question for me and so many others lately. Approval and rest are ironically correlated as both are things we desperately seek. Yet it is difficult to experience both simultaneously . . . and chasing both can be exhausting. But Jesus . . . let me explain.

Let’s talk about motivations and ask ourselves ‘why’?

Why have you signed up for so many things?
Why are you wanting that ‘summer body’?
Why do you care if your house is picked up?
Why do you want your kids to represent your family in a certain light?
Why are you moving forward with that big project?
Why are you planning all the activities?
Why are you serving and supporting your spouse?
Why are you seeking help? Why are refusing help?
Why are you even reading this post?

‘You must desire change for God and from God alone, for His glory and your joy.’
Alisa Keeton

I have not been able to stop thinking about the above quote by Alisa Keeton. I read it the day after the Lord powerfully reminded me of a critical and convicting truth:

For am I now trying to win the approval of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:10

Friends, there is nothing inherently bad in the bulleted items mentioned in the above list. The emphasis is on the ‘WHY’? If I’m being brutally honest, often my response to those questions would sound something like . . . ‘to make them happy’, ‘so they won’t think that’, ‘because I’ll feel bad if I’, ‘so I’ll look like’ or ‘I just don’t want to disappoint or come across as’. Ugh!

What is your motivation and your ‘why’? Oh I pray we all come to experience life and all its choices through the lens of Christ. Jesus came so we can live in His freedom and grace and truth, being full of the Holy Spirit. As we’re full of Him, we can lead and love and serve and do the things out of His overflow. And REST in His overflow! When He is our motivation and our ‘why’, everything changes!

Now if you stop reading here, you’ve gotten the main points – thanks. But I’m not done. Let’s keep going . . .

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in humanity.
Psalms 118:8

So what does this look like in reality? Galatians 1:10 and Psalms 118:8 bring clarity to the exhaustion and weariness we feel when we seek the approval of others. True rest and refuge are found in the Lord alone. People, humanity, and the world as a whole all make poor idols.

I’ve made my body, my role as a wife, my role as a mother, my role as a leader, my relationships, my health, my appearance, and more . . . all idols of others’ approval. I praise God He continually draws me back to Him. And I know many of you can relate.

We cannot trust the world. Having a background in marketing and advertising, I know too well the devil’s lies to persuade you into pursuing the approval of others. Or even the approval of yourself as you strive to be the version of self that you believe will bring joy and peace.

Joy and peace come from God alone. From pressing into Him, staying attached to the Vine, digging deep wells and having deep roots in His love.

‘There’s nothing wrong with wanting to please God with our actions, but we should never make impressing God more important than pressing into God.’
Alisa Keeton

As we move forward, let’s do so in humility and boldness. May pride and people-pleasing be left on the altar. When the Lord ignites a fire in our soul as we surrender and worship He alone, we truly burn bright! FOR HIS GLORY AND YOUR JOY!

Full worship-filled workout is linked below – come move in love with us!