God Can Be Pleased

“My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.” (Pr 23:15-16 AV)

Affirmation is important.  The world uses a term that is the wrong way to look at this.  They use the term, self-esteem.  Another way we can think of it is self-worth.  This also misses the mark.  We have nothing of which to be esteemed.  The only worth we have is in the LORD Jesus Christ.  The fact we are sons and daughters of God is the foundation of whatever worth we have.  So, the world’s understanding of it falls short.  What we are talking about is affirmation.  The idea that your existence means something and that there are those who deeply appreciate the impact of your life.  In the above verse, we see the importance of a father affirming the life of his son.  He puts conditions on that affirmation.  And rightly so.  The condition is the choices he makes.  As long as the son seeks to grow in wisdom and share that wisdom with others, Dad couldn’t be happier.  It is so very important to know the conditions upon which those under us can achieve that affirmation.  The problem is, there comes a time when a parent’s affirmation is not enough.  What we really seek is affirmation from our Creator.

Every child seeks his father’s approval.  It is so important to grant that approval.  I grew up in a large family.  Eight boys and three girls.  We always had the approval of our siblings.  Sometimes that was not enough.  We had our friends.  Our classmates who we hung with or went on fishing expeditions.  They affirmed our worth.  But sometimes that was not enough.  There would invariably come a time when our siblings ran us off because of some minor spat.  There would be times when a best friend fell out of favor because he wanted us to do something we knew our father would not approve of.  There were times of growing up when our friends and siblings would all go their separate ways, leaving us alone for a bit; looking for new affirmation.  There were times when we prayed for a mate and asked the LORD to provide that help meet that would fill the gaps in our lives where no one else could.  That soul mate who knew you better than you knew yourself and would love you unconditionally anyway.  But there are times when that affirmation is not enough.  There is an affirmation that only God can provide.  He is the Creator and He knows me best.

What really struck me this morning and what I really needed from the LORD was a word of affirmation.  There are times when one must stand alone.  I remember, returning from my honeymoon, unable to sleep right away, I had a discussion with the LORD.  I was impressed with the reality of my new-found role.  That being a leader and husband to my wife.  I knew there would be times when we would disagree, but I would be convinced of the LORD it was the right thing to do.  I asked the LORD for the courage to stand, even if it meant I had to stand alone.  Over the years, that has been a very rare occurrence.  My wife is the best and will always stand with me.  There are other roles we fulfill.  Other responsibilities in which we feel the affirmation of others is not sufficient for the day.  It is then we need to remember as long as we seek to please the LORD, He rejoices.  At the end of the day, that is all that really matters.  We cannot please all of the people all of the time.  At times, those who affirmed you will no longer do as much.  What we cannot do is allow the affirmation of others to be more important than the affirmation of God.  When I read the above passage, I could not help but feel a ‘warm-fuzzy’.  That God can rejoice, will be rejoicing, and is rejoicing over me is really all I should and do need.