Daily Devotions With Jonathan FalwellSample

Do you struggle with validation and acceptance?

When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness, the devil first appealed to his natural, human nature since He was hungry. He told Jesus to turn some nearby stones into bread.  Jesus did not fall for that and the devil quickly moved on to his next strategy.  These were very real, very hard temptations for the Lord. He was very hungry – He had not eaten for the 40 days He was in the wilderness and He was exhausted from the constant bombardment of the devil. The next angle was appealing to Jesus’ need for acceptance. Like all human beings, it was important to Him as well.  He basically was saying, “Listen, you are not getting anywhere with this love thing and you’re not getting any younger! Do something sensational, something spectacular. Then people will love you!” Jesus could have done any number of amazing miracles at that moment, but He chose to show us by example that is it not necessary to go to extremes to be accepted. Jesus chose not to give into the emotional appeal of Satan and we don’t have to either.  Acceptance is never worth the price of poor behavior or choices. In fact, it ultimately makes things worse as you seek validation outside of God’s intended design. You are God’s child and your Father, the King of Glory, accepts you, validates you, and loves you! Live for him today!