Yesterday, we took a look at Joseph and the tough choices he had to make concerning his destiny.  It basically boiled down to his choosing between what others were telling him, what he was telling himself or what God was telling Him!  He made the choice to get over needing the approval of others and went with His Creator!  There are several important things we learn from Joseph and the way he stepped into his destiny!

Destiny Is Found On The Inside Of Your Heart!  We need to be careful to listen to advice and be open to others, but ultimately what they say has to agree on the inside of us with what we hear our Creator saying!

This can sometimes be a very hard place, because when it does not agree and you make a choice that does not line up with what they think is best, you may fall out of the good grace of others when you stay true to your heart!

Often, people who are for you will say “even if you don’t take my suggestion, I’m with ya!”, but we quickly discover that this is just not true when we make a decision that they don’t agree with.  Some people want to control you for their good, not yours!

It is tough to move forward when people, especially so-called friend are against you and you will often find yourself in a place where they may not be for you, but if you have God’s approval – press on!

One of the hardest realities for me to accept is that there are some people who are never going to give you their approval!  You battle is not against them, don’t waste your time!  Let God fight your battles!  Be your best and follow the dreams God has given you!

God speaks to you about you!  I’ve noticed, especially among church folks that God gets blamed for a lot!  We say “God told me this!” or “God showed me that!”  I do believe that God speaks with His children and I also believe that God is showing us stuff all the time.  But God will not tell you something about my life and not tell me!  People will try to use spiritual language to try to manipulate you to get you to do what they think is best!  They usually have good intentions, but good intentions are not enough when it comes to messing with someone’s destiny.

The Only Approval That Matters At The End Of The Day Is God’s Approval!  Sometimes to gain God’s approval, you have to be willing to let go of man’s approval!  This has to be one of the hardest battles that I have ever had to face, but at some point, you will have to make the difficult decision to let go of what man wants, so that you can chase after what God wants!

Paul had battled with the same temptation and finally began to experience some growth in this area which led him to say in I Corinthians 4:1-5   1 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

When you start to live your life in this way, you need to understand it will not be easy.  I do not mean what I am about to say with any disrespect:  People will leave you, but if they leave, then you don’t need them!  If they leave you, then they do not love you the way they say.  They love self or their ideas more than they love you.  When someone really has your best interest at heart, they are willing to stay and work it out, so that everyone benefits.

God is the perfect example here.  If anyone ever deserved to leave us, then it would have to be God, but God promised to never leave you or forsake you!  God is in control and He has an amazing plan for your life!

You have a destiny!  God created you on purpose for a purpose!  Don’t forget this and please do not lose sight of this!  Very well-meaning people may not understand what God has put in your heart, but stay faithful anyway!

Here is a very big lesson:  You can’t become what God has created you to be with the approval of all of those around you!  You will never have 100% approval.  You have to learn to say it and mean it:  “I love you, but I don’t need your approval – I’m        living for God’s approval!”

Here are a  few important tips to help you stay on track:  1.) Keep a good attitude!  You will be tempted to have a bad attitude when people around you get a bad attitude, because you have not chosen the way they want you to choose!  2.) Shake off the negative!  Bad attitudes will lead to negative thinking and living.  Shake off this negative and keep shaking it off.  This will sometimes require a whole lot a shaking!  3.) Stay in faith!  You have to make sure that you are talking to God through prayer and listening to God through His Word.  Stay faithful and true to what He has taught and is teaching you!

Promotion Does Not Come From The People, It Comes From The Lord!  Stop playing up to people!  Galatians 1:10 says:  Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.  You don’t have time to waste!  You are either going to please man or God – if you are trying to please people, then you are not a servant to Christ!  (Ouch!)

Romans 13:8-14   8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.  11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

Be your best and God will take care of the rest!  Most of us can quote Proverbs 3:5-6, it is a great guide for how we are to live a life that does not suffer from approval addiction.  It says:   5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

At the end of your life, you are only going to stand before One!  Everyday the only performance that matters is the performance for your Audience of One!  Make it a good one for His glory!

The Most Wonderful Challenging Time Of The Year!  This is as the song calls it: “The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!”  It is also the most challenging time of the year!  It seems like there is never enough time to do all of the things that need to be done and there is always something else crying out for our attention!

What’s One Of The Most Difficult Things About Christmas?  There is a lot that is difficult about Christmas!  Besides there not being enough time to do all that has to be done, there is also the challenge of getting that just the right gift for that special someone!  That at first glance does not seem like such a big deal, but for some of us, it is a huge deal, because we want others to approve of us and our choices!

What Is The Big Problem?  Too many of us suffer from Approval Addiction!  That is:  We desperately need what we do or don’t do, to be validated by what other people say and think.  We care way to much about what other people think and we let it make us crazy!  Too many of us get our worth or lack of worth out of what other people think and this causes us to do all kinds of crazy things.

We play to other people and let them control and manipulate us!  We are shaped by all the wrong stuff and often miss our miracle!  We allow other people to run our life that can’t even run their own lives!  We don’t need others approval – we need God’s approval!

We’ve Got Some Serious Work To Do!  You have to decide!  The plain hard truth is:  You can’t keep everybody happy!  It’s impossible and life is too short!  You have a choice to make – you can be a people pleaser or a God pleaser!  Not everyone is going to understand your destiny!  You are the one that has to make a choice about who is going to be happy!  Like it or not, believe it or not – you control your destiny!

In the Scriptures we find a fellow by the name of Joseph, who found himself in a very similar position!  In Matthew 1:18-24, we read:  18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).  24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

A Few Things To Think ABout:  Joseph had a plan, but his plan got changed!  Joseph had a lot of people telling him what to do!  Joseph had a destiny that God had picked out for him and that’s what he went for!  His life was not easy and the choices he had to make were tough, but ultimately it all boiled down to him deciding that he wanted either what he wanted, others wanted or what God wanted!

Live life long enough and you will find yourself at a similar place!  A place where you have to make the choice to listen beyond all of the other noise, so that you can hear the still small voice of God that is directing you away from the popular and into an amazing destiny that was selected and designed for you by your amazing God!  Don’t give us, don’t give in and never ever settle for anything less that God’s very best!

One of the big challenges of life is figuring out how to clean out your head and heart!  Our head gets filled with all kinds of stuff, some of it is good and some of it is bad!  Some of the stuff that comes thorough our head flows into our heart and it is not always good, uplifting and positive.  This stuff can do more harm than good, if left unattended.  This why we need to regularly step aside from the hustle and bustle of life and do a little cleaning in our head and heart!

What thoughts have you allowed to come into your head that rob God of glory, drain your of energy and push down others?  These thought have to be taken on and taken out, or they will send negativity and discouragement into your heart and then you are in serous trouble.  It’s easier to deal with and get rid of a head problem, than a heart problem.  Take the negative of the world out of your head and replace it with the positive of the Spirit!

If it happens that your heart has become polluted by this junk of the world, then you will need to spend some time with the Master.  Only your Creator can help you remove the stuff that does not belong in your heart.  Identify what the areas of challenge are and start to find Scripture that speaks to those areas.  Claim the promises of God’s Word and use this new power to chase away the stuff that does not belong.

Now, with a right heart and ready mind – sing for God’s Glory:

See and seize the opportunity God has given you!  Your life is filled with missed opportunities, don’t focus on what you have missed, look for and focus on what is in front of you.  You have a opportnity that is waiting to be taken for a ride!

Inspect your life, find what God has given you and how you can best use it for His glory and man’s blessing!  You have been gifted with all kinds of talents and abilities.  All of these can be used to make life better for others, while gaining glory for God!

Never stop expecting, appreciating and utilizing God’s blessing!  God created you and He created you for blessing.  God’s goal is that His blessing will flow into and through your life, when this happens He gets glory!  Look for, be thankful and use what God has given you to share His greatness!

Guard the glory!  The glory of God is exactly what the Devil wants to stop, so you know this will be the place of battle.  God has given you all that you need and what God has given you is just the right size, so wear it well and you will be glad you did!