ApprovedSample

Think about a coach who’s taken a special interest in you, your favorite teacher, a mentor, or even a parent who you know really loves you. You know where you stand with them, but you still want to do things they’ll be proud of. Think about it. We do our homework when we don’t want to, we practice hard when we’re too tired, and we obey them even when we think their rules don’t make sense. Why do we do these things? Because at the end of the day, we know that they care about us.  

God works the same way. He already loves us as His own child, but we want to do things He approves of. Why? Because He cares about us more than we can even imagine. 

So, when we’re constantly trying to find approval from people, we’re missing out on what pleases God. Because God doesn’t look at the things people look at. In fact, the more we try to gain the approval from the world, the less we’ll see the approval we can receive from God. 

God created us to show love to each other and to show love to Him. Serving others, talking to God through prayer, and living generously are great ways to stay connected to God, and we find His approval when we’re doing those things. 

Challenge: Find one thing you can start doing that God approves of. Maybe it’s reading your Bible every day for 10 minutes or spending the first five minutes of your day talking to God. It could be reaching out to a kid at school who doesn’t have many friends, or it could even be doing chores at home without being asked. 

Key Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:7, Romans 14:18, 1 Peter 4:10-11, Mark 12:29-31