Stamp of Approval
Clean the lab! Spruce up the classrooms! Organize all the books! Dress professionally! Every eight years, our nursing program goes through the accreditation process. This week, we saw how that process works, and we were a part of the continuing accreditation for our college of nursing. The process of accreditation, especially the presence of the site visitors, added some strain and stress to our week, but overall it helped us to re-organize and evaluate our program. After all, we strived to gain that stamp of approval at the end of the week. We sought to please the professionals and convince them that our program was worthy of recognition.
Isn't that what we tend to do in so many areas of our lives? Undergoing accreditation this week made me recognize how often I seek approval. Maybe it is just me, but I tend to be a people-pleaser. I want the approval of my teachers, my parents, my friends, my patients, and sometimes just random people. So often, my goal is that stamp of approval - whether that means a good grade, a compliment, or a high-five. Until I really thought about it, I did not realize how much I seek recognition.
Even as I write this, I am embarrassed to admit it. Yet at the same time, I know this desire for approval and recognition is not necessarily something unholy. I might even add that God placed it there within my heart in the first place.
Psalm 37:4-6 in the Message version says,
God placed this need for validation and approval on my heart so that He could meet it. I no longer need to seek the approval of man, but only that of the Lord. His stamp of approval is what I long for at the end of the day. His delight and pleasure is my goal and aim.
In the long run, it won't matter how many A's and B's I made, how many people complimented me, or how many "stamps of approval" I received. The only accreditation I seek is the stamp of approval that God places on me.
We are all seeking validation, approval, recognition, accreditation, worth, value, love. But there is only one person whose stamp of approval will fully meet that need. Just by being made in His image, we already bear His fingerprints, His mark (Genesis 1:26). When we believe in Christ and surrender to Him, He places His Spirit on us like a seal (Ephesians 1:13). Jesus himself is like a seal placed over our hearts (Song of Solomon 8:6).
At the end of the day, His stamp of approval is His unending love, and it covers us and seals us tightly. We find our worth and value in Him. May it be our desire and delight to seek the approval of the Lord and find rest in His arms of unfailing love.
Isn't that what we tend to do in so many areas of our lives? Undergoing accreditation this week made me recognize how often I seek approval. Maybe it is just me, but I tend to be a people-pleaser. I want the approval of my teachers, my parents, my friends, my patients, and sometimes just random people. So often, my goal is that stamp of approval - whether that means a good grade, a compliment, or a high-five. Until I really thought about it, I did not realize how much I seek recognition.
Even as I write this, I am embarrassed to admit it. Yet at the same time, I know this desire for approval and recognition is not necessarily something unholy. I might even add that God placed it there within my heart in the first place.
Psalm 37:4-6 in the Message version says,
Get insurance with God and do a good deed,
settle down and stick to your last.
Keep company with God,
get in on the best.
settle down and stick to your last.
Keep company with God,
get in on the best.
Open up before God, keep nothing back;
he'll do whatever needs to be done:
He'll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.
he'll do whatever needs to be done:
He'll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.
God placed this need for validation and approval on my heart so that He could meet it. I no longer need to seek the approval of man, but only that of the Lord. His stamp of approval is what I long for at the end of the day. His delight and pleasure is my goal and aim.
In the long run, it won't matter how many A's and B's I made, how many people complimented me, or how many "stamps of approval" I received. The only accreditation I seek is the stamp of approval that God places on me.
We are all seeking validation, approval, recognition, accreditation, worth, value, love. But there is only one person whose stamp of approval will fully meet that need. Just by being made in His image, we already bear His fingerprints, His mark (Genesis 1:26). When we believe in Christ and surrender to Him, He places His Spirit on us like a seal (Ephesians 1:13). Jesus himself is like a seal placed over our hearts (Song of Solomon 8:6).
At the end of the day, His stamp of approval is His unending love, and it covers us and seals us tightly. We find our worth and value in Him. May it be our desire and delight to seek the approval of the Lord and find rest in His arms of unfailing love.
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