Do you find it hard to feel good about yourself if you do not get affirmation? Two out of three people struggle with low self esteem, and need encouragement and affirmation to feel ok.
I know that this was difficult for me, and it came from when I was a child. If I did well I got attention, but otherwise ignored. so I learned that I had to get approval to be loved. If we learn these habits when we are young then that's the way we see life.
Reality is that we cannot please everyone. If our self worth is rooted in others affirming us then our self esteem will go up and down like a yo yo and probably be down more than it is up!!
Old habit patterns and responses become well rooted deep within us, and without God are almost impossible to change ourselves.
Often though what we feel God thinks about us is also effected by our past experience and experience growing up. So we find ourselves in a vicious circle which is hard to break out of.
The first step for me was to start believing the truth about what God felt about me and not believe my feelings that were based on my experience.
Once I really started to understand God's thoughts about me and look to Him for approval, it was like a new door opened in my life which leads to the 'wide open spaces' talked about in these two verses I love:
"By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise." Romans 5 v. 1 The Message
"Oh, I'll guard with my life what you've revealed to me, guard it now, guard it ever; And I'll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom; Then I'll tell the world what I find, speak out boldly in public, unembarrassed. I cherish your commandments—oh, how I love them!— relishing every fragment of your counsel." Psalm 119 v 4o-42
If you identify with this I recommend a book by Joyce Meyer "Approval Addiction"
