Keep Your Ear Tuned to What God Says About You
It is so important that we are moved by what God says about us and not by what man says about us — not only for our benefit, but for the benefit of others. Our obedience makes a way for others to see more clearly.
We saw this truth unfold in the lives of those three Hebrew men. As they held fast to what they believed and consequently experienced a miraculous deliverance from the fiery furnace, they made a way for Nebuchadnezzar to see the truth.
The same is true for us. When we hold fast to God’s opinions, we are making a way for other people to have their spiritual eyes opened to see His truth. But if we shrink to fit into the limitations of other’s opinions, we will find ourselves boxed in by those opinions. And instead of being waymakers and pioneers, we will end up looking just like everyone else.
The way to become powerful in God in this day is by holding fast to what we believe and refusing to be swayed by other people’s opinions. What is the value of blending in with others’ opinions, anyway? When the day is done and you leave the crowd, you’re going to go home with just your opinion, so before God, you want it to be the right one. You and you alone will be responsible for your opinion, and one day, you’re going to have to answer to God for the conviction you either held tight to or let go of in favor of “fitting in” and pleasing others.
People’s opinions didn’t stop Jesus one bit, and He said in His Word that we have His Spirit (see John 14:16,17). The Holy Spirit is exactly like Jesus — so we have within us all that it takes to stand firm and not bow to other people’s opinions.
We shouldn’t even consider the opinions of people who try to put negative labels on us: “You’re too small; you’re too big; you’re too slow in how you learn; you’re too smart; you’re too skinny; you’re too fat; you’re too rejected; you’ve been on too many drugs; you’re too mentally unstable; you’re too this; you’re too that…” Every one of those labels is just someone else’s opinion.
But according to God, we have only one label, and it says, “accepted in the Beloved” (see Ephesians 1:6)! That is our label! We can say with assurance, “I am accepted in the Beloved. I am His, and He is mine, and His banner over me is love!” (see Song of Solomon 2:4,16).
If we don’t make sure that we know who we are in God’s eyes, someone else will tell us who we are, and what that person says might not be true or reliable information. That’s why it’s so important that we keep our ears open to what God says about us. We cannot let other’s opinions about us be the deciding factor as to whether we’ll obey Him and fulfill our unique destiny.
With the right kind of conviction — God’s opinion of us — we can hold firm and declare as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did: “I don’t even need to answer you in this. This is not even a question for me. I’m not going to bow down to any idol, even if I have to be thrown into a fiery furnace. I stand only for God and His truth, regardless the cost!” And just as God showed up for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, He’s going to show up for us, because we’ve made the decision to stand up for what we believe.
Unstoppable
Denise Renner
