Why is it that we so often fail to trust in the God for whom nothing is too hard? Well, for one—and for me this can be a big one—it’s because we seek approval from other people.
This morning as I read my Bible, I came to these words of Jesus addressing His opponents: “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:43-44)
My first thought was: how stupid! They believed in mere men who came with nothing but their own name and failed to believe in Jesus who came from God Himself? But then, I realized: that is what I do every time I frantically chase after other people’s approval! And it’s not just stupid. It’s failing to trust in God.
D.A. Carson commented on these verses:
“The chief judgment on those who deny that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Son of God, is not so much that they have no Messiah, but that they follow false messiahs…Like most people then and now, they were heavily dependent on accepting praise from one another; they made no effort to obtain the praise that comes from God.”
Far too often I run after false messiahs, convinced that if I can simply amass and maintain a certain level of approval from others, I will be happy. But when I do so, I am failing to believe that the glory that comes from God is the only glory worth seeking after. I am choosing NOT to trust God.
John Piper says it better than I can:
“Itching for glory from other people makes faith impossible. Why? Because faith is being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus; and if you are bent on getting the satisfaction of your itch from the scratch of other’s acclaim, you will turn away from Jesus. But if would turn away from self as the source of satisfaction (= repentance), and come to Jesus for the enjoyment of all that God is for us in him (= faith), then the itch would be replaced by a well of water springing up to eternal life (John 4:14).”
We can’t be trusting God while trying to garner a little praise from others on the side. No, trust in God requires a wholehearted pursuit of the glory that comes from God—a glory that never fails to satisfy!
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