READ: MATTHEW 11:28-30; GALATIANS 1:10; COLOSSIANS 3:23-24

Have you ever felt pressure to get straight As or be the best athlete on the field? There are so many things in this world telling us to be the best at this or that. When we feel this pressure on our shoulders, it can start to crush us.

The truth is, it can be good to use the skills and abilities God has given us as we work hard for things and do our best—this can be an act of worship, honoring to God. But once we allow ourselves to be controlled by achieving the highest standing because we want to be well-liked, accepted, or feel valuable, then we know we’ve crossed a line. This can be a sign that we’re starting to forget that we are perfectly loved, accepted, and valued in Christ.

And when we forget this truth, we start allowing ourselves to do things for the approval of other people, turning away from what God wants for us. Instead of walking in God’s good ways because His unshakeable love has transformed our hearts, we begin to do things to get people to like us or accept us.

But, when we return to the truth of the gospel and we start to turn our focus on God, His Spirit works in us to align our thoughts, words, actions, and attitudes with His good ways. In the gospel, we see how Jesus died and rose again to make the way for us to be with Him, free from sin and death. Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can know that He is always with us. He loves us, He will never leave us, and we never have to earn His approval. This truth changes everything. When we rest in God’s love, we begin to do things out of our love for Him instead of to earn the approval of people. • Tynea Lewis

• When are you most tempted to idolize the approval of the people around you? Consider spending some time in prayer, asking Jesus to show you where you’re chasing after human approval, and to help you rest in His perfect love instead.

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Romans 15:7 (NIV)