How much of what you believe about yourself didn’t come from God?
Thoughts like these can quickly answer the question, Are You Following the World or Jesus? I should look like this. I should be this. I should be this size or weigh this. I should have accomplished this by now. Once I reach that goal, I’ll finally be successful. I’ll prove them wrong.
But who told you those things? The world has a lot to say about who we should be, what we should look like, what success means, and how we should live.
And sometimes we’ve listened to those messages for so long that we don’t even recognize they’re shaping our beliefs.
I want to share a question I wrote in the pages of my pink tea-stained journal:
Am I following Jesus, or am I following the world’s standards and asking Jesus to bless them?
That’s a question worth sitting with.
Because we can love Jesus, attend church, read our Bibles, and still find ourselves measuring our lives against standards God never gave us.
Today I want us to examine three important questions about our identity in Christ, our devotion, and what we’re pursuing.
More importantly, I want us to go to God’s Word and learn how to live differently.
Are You Following the World or Jesus? 3 Questions to Ask Yourself:
1. Who Told You Who You’re Supposed to Be?
Colossians 2:8 (NKJV) warns us not to be led astray by human philosophies and worldly thinking rather than Christ.
Think about how that applies to our lives today.
Everywhere we look, we’re being told what beauty should look like, what success should look like, what we should own, how much we should weigh, and what we should have accomplished by a certain age.
Social media. Advertising. Entertainment. Comparison.
Before we know it, we’re measuring ourselves against standards that have nothing to do with who God says we are.
I Know What It’s Like to Let the World Define Me
I grew up feeling insecure. I didn’t know my worth.
When my dad had a stroke, it made me realize how much I’d let my own health go. I felt fear and pressure to get healthy and fit.
But because I didn’t have my identity firmly rooted in Christ, I fell into worldly traps.
I allowed the world to define me.
I chased fitness goals and achievements. I won a fitness competition and appeared on magazine covers.
And you know what happened?
The goalposts kept moving.
There was always another goal. Another achievement. Another standard to meet.
There was no such thing as enough.
But God used what I was going through to refine me.
I had to learn that my worth wasn’t found in my appearance, achievements, or what anyone thought of me.
My worth was found in Jesus.
And learning to live from that truth instead of the world’s standards is something I still practice daily.
Hold onto this: If the world is defining your worth, you’ll spend your life trying to measure up to a standard God never gave you.
How to Apply God’s Word
Think about the beliefs you’ve accepted about yourself.
Where did they come from?
Are they rooted in God’s Word, or are they rooted in what the world has told you?
Ask God to show you what you’ve been believing that isn’t true of who He says you are.
Then go to His Word and replace those beliefs with His truth.
2. What Has Your Devotion?
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:24 that no one can serve two masters.
That is a powerful truth when we begin examining our daily lives.
What we value most influences where we spend our time, attention, energy, and resources.
There’s nothing wrong with setting goals, working hard, building a business, getting healthy, or wanting to accomplish something meaningful.
But those things become problems when they take the place that belongs to God.
We can say God comes first while organizing our lives around earning approval, achieving more, looking a certain way, or controlling outcomes.
Sometimes we don’t recognize that it’s happening.
We become so focused on the goal that we forget to ask God whether it’s His goal for us.
We pray for Him to bless our plans without first surrendering those plans to Him.
And that brings us back to the question:
Am I following Jesus, or am I following the world’s standards and asking Jesus to bless them?
Jesus isn’t asking for a place somewhere on our list of priorities.
He is calling us to follow Him.
Hold onto this: It’s possible to say God is first in your life while living as though something else is.
How to Apply God’s Word
Ask God to help you examine where your time, attention, and energy have been going.
Without guilt, shame, or judgment, ask yourself:
What do my daily choices reveal about my priorities?
Is there an area of my life where I’ve been putting something else before God?
Where do I need to surrender my way and choose His?
We don’t have to figure everything out in our own strength.
We can go to God first.
3. Stop Loving What the World Celebrates
In 1 John 2:15–17, John warns believers not to love the world or the things in it.
He speaks about the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life.
He reminds us that the world and its desires are passing away, but the one who does God’s will abides forever.
Think about what our culture celebrates.
Appearance. Status. Possessions. Recognition. Achievement.
We’re constantly being encouraged to want more, become more, buy more, and prove more.
But none of those things can give us the identity, security, or lasting fulfillment we find in Christ.
Not everything the world celebrates is something God wants us to pursue.
This doesn’t mean we can’t have goals or enjoy the blessings God gives us.
It means we need to examine what’s motivating us and where those desires are leading us.
Are our goals drawing us closer to God?
Or are they pulling our hearts away from Him?
Are we pursuing something because God has called us to it?
Or because the world has convinced us we need it to be enough?
Hold onto this: Just because the world celebrates something doesn’t mean God is calling you to pursue it.
God calls His people to be set apart.
That means we aren’t supposed to look to the world to determine our identity, our values, or how we live.
We belong to Jesus.
Following Him means learning to choose His ways over the world’s ways, even when those choices look different from what everyone around us is doing.
How to Apply God’s Word
Is there something you’re pursuing that God has been asking you to surrender?
Maybe it’s a goal, an expectation, a relationship, a desire for approval, or the need to control an outcome.
Bring it before Him.
Ask Him to help you want what He wants for your life.
Because the world and its desires are passing away, but God’s Word and His promises are eternal.
How Do We Stop Following the World’s Standards?
We start by going to God first.
Not after we’ve exhausted every other option.
Not after we’ve compared ourselves to everyone else.
Not after we’ve tried to figure everything out in our own strength.
We go to Him first.
When a thought tells you you’re not enough, take it to God’s Word.
When you’re tempted to measure your life against someone else’s, ask God to remind you who you are in Christ.
When you’re making decisions about your health, your relationships, your work, or your future, ask Him to guide you.
This is what it means to take what we know about God and actually live it.
It’s not about perfection.
It’s about daily surrender.
It’s about recognizing where we’ve been following the world’s standards and choosing God’s truth instead.
And friend, this is something we can practice every single day.
A Prayer to Stop Looking to the World for Answers
Father God,
Thank You for loving us and calling us to follow You.
Forgive us for the times we’ve allowed the world to define our worth, shape our desires, and determine our priorities.
Lord, open our eyes to the beliefs we’ve accepted that don’t line up with Your Word.
Show us where we’ve placed worldly success, approval, or achievement above our relationship with You.
Help us recognize what is temporary and pursue what is eternal.
Give us the courage to live differently, to trust Your truth over the world’s opinions, and to follow Jesus with our whole hearts.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Join Me for Holy & Healthy: The 21-Day Challenge
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Ready to stop letting the world define you and start living who God created you to be?
I’d love for you to join me in Holy & Healthy: The 21-Day Challenge.
You’ll receive 21 days of Scripture-based devotionals, prayers, reflection questions, and one simple daily step to help you live God’s Word in your real life.
Plus, you’ll receive three exclusive private video teachings.
It’s just 10 minutes a day.
Join Holy & Healthy: The 21-Day Challenge
You don’t have to change your whole life overnight. Start by giving God the first 10 minutes of your day and let Him change you from the inside out.
Remember, whatever you’re facing, go to God first.
With so much love, God bless.
