Audience of One (devotional)

So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. –Romans 14:12

What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? -Romans 8:31 (CEV)

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. -Colossians 3:23 (NLT)

In life, we cannot control what other people say about us, but we can control how we choose to react. Instead of reacting by fighting for their approval or hoping we prove them wrong, we can focus instead on putting our hope in the Lord, for we know that what He says about us is valid, and the hope He gives us is what makes us secure. -She Rises

Oh, how this hit me this morning! I easily become overwhelmed with gratitude when I look back and see God’s distinct fingerprints all over the process He has taken (and is still taking) me through to learn this lesson.

The willingness to sacrifice my peace to win the approval of others is not and should not be at the essence of who I am. The process of living to please God over pleasing those around me is hard and painful at times, but I praise God for it because it means I’m so much more aware that, if I’m living my life for an audience of One, the response of others is between Him and them.

The most important relationship in our lives does not require us to impress anyone. There is freedom when we come to learn, like the deep-in-our-souls kind of learning, that we do not have to perform our way into His presence. We can be secure in knowing that we have a relationship with the Creator of the universe, the God who is not bound to us by anything other than His love for us – a love that can’t be bought or earned.

Real relationship is knowing that you are enough even sitting in stillness. It takes courage to trust God in stillness. There is comfort in activity. In achievement. In “doing”. But real relationship isn’t found in the “doing”. In stillness, I am choosing to be with God, not do something to find Him. In stillness, I have to trust that I have His love, His attention, His affection, His approval, just as I am without having to do anything to earn it. I have to trust that He is true to His Word that He is ever-present with me, that He will never leave me, even in the absence of my activity.