“We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4)

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Whose approval do we seek? A parent’s? A boss’s? A love interest? For Paul, there was but one answer. He wrote, “We speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.”

What does it mean to seek God’s approval? At the very least, it involves two things: turning from the desire for the applause of others and allowing His Spirit to make use more like Christ, the One who loved us and gave Himself for us. As we yield to His perfect purposes in us and through us, we can anticipate a day when we will experience the smile of His approval, the approval of the One who matters most.

Daily Questions

1. Whose approval do you find yourself seeking and why is their validation so important to you?
2. How could God’s approval satisfy even more deeply?

Daily Thoughts

Father, it’s far too easy to seek the applause of those around us and to desire their praise. Help us to lift our eyes to You, the One who knows us best and loves us most.

1 Thessalonians 2: 1-4

“You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.

Bonus Information

On his second missionary journey. Paul wanted to preach the gospel in Asia Minor and Bithynia (modern western and northern Turkey), but God redirected him northwest into Europe via Troas through “a vision of a man of Macedonia”. Paul preached in Thessalonica (northern Greece), the second European city evangelized, for about a month. After starting a church there, he left because of persecution, but he was deeply concerned for the young church. After trying unsuccessfully to return, he sent Timothy to visit the church. Timothy reported that it was thriving, standing firm in Christ despite persecution, but he also shared concerns about immoral behavior and erroneous beliefs concerning Christ’s return. In response, Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians to commend the church for being “a model to all the believers” and for their “faith in God.”