Pretense or Peace
My heart has been preoccupied with thoughts of seeking God – of drawing near to Him and knowing He is with me. In the midst of a world that seems to have lost its center, I long for the One who never changes. In the midst of chaos, I long for peace.
I have been learning, on this journey of seeking, it isn’t the outward circumstances alone that rob me of the peace that Jesus has promised. More often than not it is self – the me that screams for attention and approval.
We are told over and over again in the Word God’s ways are not our ways. In His kingdom it is the weak who are strong, and the poor who are rich. In this age of Facebook, blogs and Twitter, where our popularity is right there in black and white for all to see, it is still, Jesus says, the humble whom He will honor.
When I am bowed down with the weight of trying to win the approval of others, there is no peace. I will never please everyone. In my efforts to be all things to all people I may find myself pretending to be something I am not – just so you will like me. There is far too much to lose if I reveal the faults and failures hidden behind my smile.
I am no longer authentic. I am an artificial caricature of myself – putting on the appropriate self to please whichever group I’m longing to be a part of. The real me, the one a Holy God created me to be, is no longer recognizable.
It is only when I see myself through the lens of His love that I truly know my worth. He hides me behind the cross, clothes me in the righteousness of His precious Son and seals me with His Spirit. He sets me free to be who I am in Jesus. He gives me peace.
“Come on, humble yourself, and cease to care what men think. The meek man is not a human mouse…He has accepted God’s estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God has declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is in the sight of God of more importance than angels. In himself nothing; in God, everything.”
A.W. Tozer
Blessings,
Linda
Nice post, bless you.
I needed to read that this morning. Sometimes I get so caught up in self, that I forget how precious I am in the Lord’s sight.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you for this post. I needed the reminder that it’s His eyes I should see myself through.