Wanting Approval

Psalms 121:1-8

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip — He who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all harm — He will watch over your life;

8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

NIV

What does this mean for me?

1. We feel bad about ourselves, so we look for approval from others, as we know that we will not find approval from God in relation to our choices.

   
   

2. Our guilty conscience and shame regarding habitual sin makes it difficult to be intimate with God.

   
   

3. Habitual sinful behavior makes us insecure and causes us to lose confidence (Proverbs 28:1). In order to boost our confidence we look to others, while hiding from God.

   
   

4. We struggle to differentiate between God’s disapproval regarding our behavior and God’s approval regarding us being in Christ. Sin confuses and complicates the relationship.