Don’t fall into this trap.

OK so here is a trap I think many of us fall into, we fear human
rejection more than we crave praise from God. John 12:43 says this, “For
they loved human praise more than the praise of God.” How many things do
you do or don’t do because of what people will think of you. Really, stop and
think about that – how does your concern about what people think  influence the way you live?

When I turned 40 (also when I became a believer) one of the
biggest changes I noticed was that I was freed for being too concerned with
what people thought. Not that I don’t fall back to old ways but for the most
part I do not worry what people think of me. What a difference it makes when
you don’t have to make decisions based off of what others will think of you.
This is when life really becomes fun!

If you are searching for peace this is one change you can make
that will help bring peace into your life. You can try and live by God’s
standards rather than the worlds. The world will have different expectations
for you. One person wants you to live this way the other has a different path
in mind for you. Focusing only on God’s path frees you from all the confusion.

You might be thinking well you can’t just disregard what people
think because I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. I believe if we really
try to follow God’s ways He will guide us to say and do what we should do. I
find the challenge can be in feeling confident that I am hearing how God wants
me to handle situations. If I pray and move in the way I hear God guiding me
than even if things don’t turn out as I had hoped (feelings get hurt) I still
have peace. The more I read the Bible I see that Jesus was always true to what
He was here to do. He was super kind and loving but He had a purpose and He didn’t
allow what people thought of Him to take Him off his path.

Along with John 12:43 here are three other verses that help me
when I fall into worrying about people’s opinions of me.

Galatians 1:10: Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of
people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s
servant (live this!)

1 Thessalonians 2:4: Our purpose it to please God, not people. He
is the one who examines the motives of our hearts.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14: Be on guard. Be true to what you believe.
Be courageous. Be Strong. And everything you do must be done with love.  (what a verse to live by!!)

I hope this helps you have more peace and joy!

Michelle