You are accepted! 💟

“And he chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself even before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained [He marked us with his love.] us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence.”
Ephesians 1:4 The Passion Translation (TPT) – brackets TPT footnotes

The negative effects of rejection are severe – it often causes you to become introspective, self-condemning and causes you to seek acceptance at a great expense by stepping onto the performance treadmill of trying to please people. For some, because they do not realize that God accepts them because of what Jesus has done for them (and their faith in that) and not what they do for Him, they are constantly wearing themselves out trying to please God and be accepted by Him. All of this is simply bondage – it’s not freedom, it’s not healthy and it will make you very tired. You cannot effectively walk in the fullness of God and you will not successfully unleash the power of God that is in you if your focus is on trying to gain the acceptance of others, or God, by seeking to please them.

“I’m obviously not trying to flatter you or water down my message to be popular with men, but my supreme passion is to please God. For if all I attempt to do is please people, I would not be the true servant of the Messiah.”
Galatians 1:10 The Passion Translation (TPT)

You cannot seek to please people and follow God. Our security should not be in the acceptance and approval of people. Being fearful of what people will think of us if we take a stand for truth and do what God has called us to do is a symptom of being a people-pleaser. We shouldn’t be aiming to upset people, but the reality is that if we’re seeking God and living for Him, there will be many people who do not like it and will criticize us for it (2 Timothy 3:12). If the enemy can succeed in getting you to focus on what people will think of you and worry about whether they will accept or reject you, then he will succeed in holding you back from walking in all that God has for you. We need to live for the audience of One.

Our security should be in Jesus – Christians should be the most secure people on the face of the earth because we have eternal security. The problem is that so many Christians think God is a temperamental hothead, ready to snap in rage at any moment – there is no security or peace in that. And then many Christians think that God is relating to them based on their actions and performance, which naturally fluctuates – there is no security or peace in that, either. If God were treating us as we deserve we’d all be in big trouble. Praise God that He is dealing with us in grace – not as our sins deserve! (Psalm 103:10-14; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Ephesians 2:8-9)

When you realize how much God loves you and that He’s not treating you according to your performance but according to unmerited, undeserved, unearned favour (grace), you will be secure. When you realize that God loves you just the way you are and not the way you should be and that He accepts you because of what Jesus has done for you (and your faith in that) and not because of what you do for Him, you will be secure. If God – the Creator of the universe – accepts you, then who cares who doesn’t accept you!