Daily Devotionals

Voice of the Lord

Devotional: 29th of Cheshvan

How can you believe, when you receive glory [praise] from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? (John 5:44 NASB)

Everyone looks for approval. From our earliest years, we thrive on our parents' approval, or starve for lack of it. Later,we receive approval from teachers, friends, and acquaintances. For most people, this approval helps shape our patterns of behavior, hopefully for the good. Due to the weakness of the flesh, however, the search for approval can easily become a hindrance to moral and spiritual development.

When we are born from above, a transformation begins. We have another Father whose approval is always separate from his love. God told David concerning his seed, "I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him" (2 Samuel 7:14-15 NASB). As this transformation continues, the approval of men begins to take a back seat to the approval of God. We can facilitate this transformation by viewing God as our unconditionally loving Father who works through our weaknesses and insecurities as we trust and obey him.

The word for "believe," in today's Scripture verse, can mean "to put confidence in." Even believers can struggle to put their confidence in God, because they find human approval so important. As God reveals his fatherly love, our confidence increases, and our hunger for men's approval decreases.

...choose to seek approval from my Father in heaven first. Pleasing him through obedience will be my greatest joy.

MW