I crave the praise of man. I devour compliments, admiring glances & words of praise. They make me feel good. Full. Satisfied. Like I’ve just eaten a great meal. Inevitably the full feeling fades & I’m hungry again. When I’m wearing a cute outfit & no one compliments it, my hunger grows. When I’m having a good hair day & no one notices, my appetite deepens. When I do something well & no one tells me “good job” the hunger pains begin to ache. My growing hunger used to cause me to act out in sin & draw me into bondage. This desperate need to satisfy the hunger led me so deep into anorexia that I no longer felt true, physical hunger. I existed by feeding the appetite to be loved, liked, envied & seen as beautiful-not to mention skinny.

All praise to the God who set me free from that bondage & gave me a taste of something Better. He gave me a hunger for the Bread of Life who satisfies my every craving. In Him I am loved, accepted & secure.

Now, when I feel that craving for man’s praise start to ache within me, I know what it is. It now indicates to me that I have taken my eyes off the Savior & focused them on the mirror. I close my eyes & preach the Truth of the gospel to my hunger. “You are loved. You are accepted. You are secure in Christ. You are God’s beautiful creation.” The ache for the praises of men weakens & my desire for Christ burns within me.

These truths are yours as well. Do you believe them? YOU are loved. YOU are secure in Christ. YOU are God’s beautiful creation. YES. YOU!

Romans 12:2-3 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary they have diving power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

 
Ephesians 4:22 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its’ deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

For His glory,

photo cred: http://fingercandymedia.com/applause