Jesus said in  “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from that person’s heart.”
The Gospel of John, chapter 7, verses 37-38

Frequently, I thirst for approval. It’s a human desire and a human need. God promises to fulfill this thirst, and he does so when I turn to him. Sadly, he’s not always the first one I look to.

In her book, Free of Me: Why Life is Better When It’s Not about You, Sharon Hodde Miller describes seven mirrors we commonly look into in our search for approval. As I read her book this week, God gave me insights which I recorded in the following poem.


 
 Sometimes I seek approval
 From family or friends;
 My vision is distorted
 When looking through that lens.
  
 I lose sight of Jesus.
 My love for him grows dim
 In his grace and goodness,
 He calls me back to him.
  
 I focus on forgiveness
 Instead of on my sin;
 I regain hope and courage
 And, in strength, rise again.
  
 I rise again to worship
 My Savior and my God;
 Then, gratefully, I work
 For his accepting nod—
  
 I know I have acceptance.
 Approval’s something more.
 It takes my faithful effort;
 Obedience is its core.
  
 Obedience flows from love—
 Love that I’ve been given.
 Oh what joy it is to be
 A friend of God in heaven!
  
 That friendship costs me everything
 It must be my one desire.
 I cannot cling to other loves
 And retain the Spirit’s fire.
  
 An all-consuming love for Christ
 Transforms my soul and spirit
 So that from sources outside of him
 I no longer search for merit. 
  
 Jane Ault 
 7/18/19
   

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