This week on the I Choose Today Podcast, we continued our Identity in Christ series by talking about something many of us don’t realize we’re still carrying, the need for approval. There was a season in my life when I believed I needed to prove my value. I accelerated my four-year degree into eighteen months. I earned difficult certifications. I pursued a master’s degree because I thought it would show I had what it took to excel in my field. From the outside, it looked focused and driven. But underneath it all was a quiet question that never seemed to go away: Am I enough yet? I remember asking God why I felt so unsettled despite the achievements. And gently, He showed me the truth. My motivation was off. I wasn’t pursuing excellence from confidence, I was chasing validation. I was not building worth. I was trying to prove it. What I didn’t yet understand was the difference between approval and acceptance. Approval is performance-based. It fluctuates. It increases when we succeed and decreases when we fail. Approval is earned. Acceptance, on the other hand, is positional. It is given. Scripture says we are “accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).