Encouragement

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Everyday we experience a situation where someone rejects us, opposes us, and finds fault in us. In some of these instances it makes us question ourselves. It makes us questions our motives and our abilities. Unknowingly we seek small windows of approval from our brothers and sisters we see everyday.

Think about when we walk down the street and we mouth a warm "hello" and no response is returned, for some of us we smile and shake it off, for others, there, begins the clouds that move to darken our day. What about when we declare "I love you," to those people in our lives whom we have chosen to give our hearts to, and those feelings are not returned (at least not in words) we begin to question whether or not he or she actually love us.

Then we have those everyday encounters on the job, when another co-worker is praised for their efforts and we think "well, had I been asked to do that, I could have done an awesome job too." Or, we sit silently wondering why "so and so" is always the hostess or the "life" of the party. We feel rejected, un-included, uninvited, there's seems to be some grand party going on, where we're asked to serve the guest but not be one of them.

We allow people and situations to dictate our response to ourselves, thereby predicting our response to our Heavenly Father. There is no "why" question regarding our Heavenly Father, there simple "is". We understand that people we look to for acceptance, are in fact, mere people just like us, and they are in fact, with spots and blemishes, just like us.

Our acceptance in what we do, whether it's a warm "hello", an "I love you," or simply applauding a co-workers achievements, our acceptance is in our ability to speak what is our own individual truth, regardless of the response we receive back, because what motivates us, is not their response to us, but rather our heartfelt truth to them, without requiring an approval.

Consider this, if you feel badly, after giving a compliment, or stating your feelings, consider that you were never genuine and sincere in extending your emotions. When we look to others for approval and acceptance we seek to cast an expectation of massive proportions to those of them who hold no greater weight or influence than we do. For we are all God's children, and we are all under His authority, and we are ALL with spots and blemishes.

Our Heavenly Father loves us and accepts us on absolutely no conditions. There is nothing that we have to strive for to achieve His love. As sinners His love is there, and as we strive to be saints His love is unchanged. When we can stop looking to our brothers and sisters, who at some point are looking to someone else, themselves, for approval and acceptance, when we can stop looking to them, we can truly focus in on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Allowing him to direct our path, and when we seek His Approval, and His Acceptance, you will be entire and complete, wanting nothing.

My brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, let us seek to lift the body of Christ and to speak what is true to us, with no expectation of jubilation of others, seeking only to please our Heavenly Father. For when He is pleased what more can we ask for.

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