When we become insecure in our identity, we can starting fearing unacceptance. We become people-pleasers who want other people to like us and approve of us. We think that approval comes from what we do, and we constantly strive to be good enough and acceptable. Sometimes this happens in our relationship with God too. We start thinking that we’re unacceptable to Him, that we have to prove our worth through our actions and then maybe He’ll accept and love us. But we don’t need to let the fear of unacceptance control us. It’s true that people aren’t always going to like us, we’ll face rejection, but we can be confident that we’re already accepted by God. We don’t have to look a certain way or do certain things to earn His approval. God looks at our heart. ‘The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV). So if our heart is fixed on God, we can be sure that we’ve got His acceptance, even if we haven’t got it from other people. The Bible tells us that Jesus faced rejection too: ‘the living Stone - rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him’ (1 Peter 2:4 NIV). And that’s also true for us, we may be rejected by other humans, but God’s chosen us and we’re precious to Him. So when we’re feeling fearful that we’re not good enough and we start striving to be accepted by others we need to remind ourselves that God accepts us and loves us. And it’s His opinion of us that matters.

What Now?

Write a letter to yourself, as if you were writing to a friend. Tell yourself all your good points, how much you’re loved by God and include some of your favourite Bible verses. Every time you feel you’re not good enough, read the letter.