The Power of Acceptance — part 4

Accepting Acceptance

We often spend energy resisting change, fighting against reality, or criticising ourselves for not living up to impossible standards. This resistance creates tension, frustration and a deep sense of dissatisfaction.

Prayer and conversation with friends can help you break free from this cycle by guiding you toward acceptance — an essential foundation for spiritual growth. It is important to understand that acceptance is not about giving up or settling for less. Instead, it’s about embracing the truth of your situation, making peace with it, and then moving forward with faith and hope.

So, let’s draw the threads together from my three stories:

Self-Acceptance: Often, the hardest person to accept is ourselves. Are you convinced that God loves you, personally?

"The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3.17

You may argue that this is about Israel. However, consider:

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3.1

Isn’t family love personal? God not only loves his family, he loves each individual who makes up his family. He loves and accepts you. Can you accept his love for you? This is the place to start if you want to see an ongoing transformation into Christ-likeness.

Acceptance of Others: A relationship with God helps us engage with complex relationships with greater empathy and understanding. Time spent with God helps us accept others for who they are while also setting healthy boundaries that protect our emotional well-being.

We need people as more than acquaintances:

“The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” Proverbs 12.15

Acceptance of Circumstances: Life often throws us unexpected challenges.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1.2–4

Ultimately, we cannot control all our circumstances, but we can control whether we accept them, embrace them, and seek God’s work in them.

Acceptance as a Pathway to Growth

When you embrace acceptance by faith, you release the burden of resistance and allow yourself to focus on what truly matters — your relationship with God and the work of God through you. Acceptance isn’t about giving up; it’s about freeing yourself to move forward towards greater Christlikeness.

God bless, Malcolm