Good Vibes Are Not the Same as God’s Approval

 There is a particular danger that can exist in relationships and in life that we do not always recognise.

Sometimes nothing appears to be wrong.

The relationship feels good. The money is good. The holidays are good. The chemistry is good. The conversations are good. There is laughter, affection, comfort and companionship.

So we conclude:

“Everything must be okay.”

But is it?

One of the easiest ways to remain in something that God has never asked us to remain in is to judge our circumstances by how they feel rather than by what is true.

A life can be comfortable and still be spiritually misaligned.

A relationship can feel wonderful and still be pulling us away from God.

And sometimes the absence of difficulty does not mean that we are walking in the right direction. Sometimes it simply means that we have become comfortable enough that we have stopped questioning the direction we are going.

When Everything Is Going Well, We Can Stop Asking Questions

Challenges have a strange way of making us think.

When money becomes tight, we evaluate our decisions.

When a relationship becomes difficult, we start asking whether something needs to change.

When our plans fall apart, we are forced to slow down.

When something hurts, we often become more willing to examine what is happening underneath the surface.

But what happens when everything seems to be working?

You may have no financial pressure.

You may be travelling together.

You may have a comfortable home.

You may both have good jobs.

You may be enjoying yourselves.

You may rarely argue.

And because there is no obvious crisis demanding your attention, you can become distracted from the questions that matter most.

Is this relationship honouring God?

Are we equally yoked?

Are the decisions we are making actually biblical?

Is this relationship helping me draw closer to God or making it easier for me to compromise?

Am I following God's wisdom, or am I simply following what feels good?

Those questions can become very inconvenient when life feels pleasant.

And that is precisely why they are so important.

When You Already Know Something Is Wrong

Perhaps one of the most dangerous situations is when a believer already knows something is wrong, but eventually becomes comfortable enough with it that they stop treating it as wrong.

Consider a believer who enters a relationship with someone who does not share their faith.

They know what Scripture says about being unequally yoked.

They know that marriage is not merely about attraction, companionship and having fun together. It is a spiritual covenant, and the direction of two people's lives matters.

They may even recognise the problem themselves.

They may wrestle with it.

They may pray about it.

They may tell themselves that they need to leave.

They may even have moments where they clearly recognise that the relationship is pulling them away from what they know to be right.

But then something happens.

They have a wonderful holiday together.

They laugh.

They enjoy one another's company.

They experience physical intimacy.

They have money to spend.

They travel.

They go out for dinner.

Their careers are going well.

They come home happy.

And suddenly the conviction that once seemed so important becomes much easier to ignore.

Why?

Because the relationship is satisfying desires they deeply want fulfilled.

And this is where a believer can become spiritually deceived—not necessarily because they have stopped knowing what God's Word says, but because what they want has become louder than what they know.

The relationship feels good, so they begin interpreting the feeling as confirmation.

They think:

“Maybe I was being too extreme.”

“Maybe God doesn't mind.”

“Look how happy we are.”

“Things are going so well.”

“Maybe this person will change eventually.”

But none of those things answer the actual question.

Does this relationship honour God?

A vacation cannot answer that.

Chemistry cannot answer that.

Sexual attraction cannot answer that.

Money cannot answer that.

A good salary cannot answer that.

Having fun together cannot answer that.

Only God's truth can answer that.

The Relationship Does Not Have to Be Miserable to Be Wrong

This is something many believers struggle to understand.

We sometimes imagine that if something is outside of God's will, it should immediately fall apart.

We expect constant arguments, heartbreak, betrayal, financial problems or obvious dysfunction.

But what if the relationship is actually enjoyable?

What if the two people genuinely have fun together?

What if they travel and make beautiful memories?

What if they make each other laugh?

What if there is affection and companionship?

What if they are financially comfortable?

None of those things automatically make the relationship spiritually right.

A relationship can be enjoyable and still be disobedient.

That is an uncomfortable truth.

Because sometimes the very reason a person remains somewhere they should reconsider is that they are enjoying themselves too much to want to obey.

We cannot say:

“It feels good, therefore God must be in it.”

Our feelings are not God's Word.

Our circumstances are not God's Word.

Our comfort is not God's Word.

And our happiness does not give us permission to disregard what God has already made clear.

When Pleasure Silences Conviction

This is where we have to be honest about the flesh.

Our flesh does not always want what God wants.

There are things we can deeply desire that God still tells us to deny ourselves.

Jesus said:

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”— Matthew 16:24, KJV

Following Christ sometimes means saying no to something that feels very good.

That is precisely why obedience matters.

If obedience only required us to give up things we already disliked, there would be very little sacrifice involved.

The difficult test comes when we desperately want something that God has told us not to pursue.

And this is where a person has to decide:

Do I love this enough to disobey God for it?

Because sometimes that is what is really happening.

A person may never consciously say, “I am choosing this relationship instead of God.”

But their decisions can communicate exactly that.

They know what Scripture says.

They know what they believe.

They have experienced conviction.

And yet they continue because the relationship satisfies desires they are unwilling to surrender.

At that point, the question is no longer whether they know God's will.

The question is whether they are willing to obey it.

Do Not Confuse Provision With Permission

This is another important distinction.

God allowing something to continue does not necessarily mean He approves of it.

People sometimes reason:

“If God didn't want this, He would stop it.”

But Scripture does not teach us that everything God permits is something He approves of.

Human beings have free will. God can allow people to make decisions that He has already warned them against.

He can allow someone to remain in a relationship.

He can allow someone to prosper financially.

He can allow someone to experience temporary happiness.

And yet His Word remains His Word.

Our circumstances do not rewrite Scripture.

Our emotions do not rewrite Scripture.

Our bank accounts do not rewrite Scripture.

And our relationship status certainly does not rewrite Scripture.

Sometimes We Are Not Looking for God's Will—We Are Looking for His Approval

This is where the issue becomes even deeper.

Sometimes we say we are asking God what He wants, but what we really want is for God to approve what we want.

We already know what we desire.

We already know which person we want.

We already know which relationship we want to continue.

We already know which decision would make us happiest.

So we look for signs that will allow us to continue without having to confront the uncomfortable truth.

We point to the good times.

We point to the money.

We point to the chemistry.

We point to the opportunities.

We point to how happy we feel.

But none of those things necessarily answer the question:

“Is this what God wants?”

There is a difference between asking God to lead us and asking God to bless the direction we have already chosen.

“I’m Sure God Understands”

There is another phrase we can use when we know something is not right but do not want to give it up:

“I'm sure God understands.”

And yes, God understands.

He understands our desires.

He understands our loneliness.

He understands our attraction.

He understands our emotional attachment.

He understands how difficult it can be to surrender something we desperately want.

He understands the circumstances surrounding our decisions better than anyone else does.

But we can easily take the truth that God understands us and turn it into an excuse for disobedience.

We can start telling ourselves:

“I'm sure God understands why I'm staying.”

“I'm sure God understands that I love this person.”

“I'm sure God understands that this relationship makes me happy.”

“I'm sure God understands that I don't want to start over.”

“I'm sure God understands that I have needs.”

And perhaps the most dangerous part is that there is a little bit of truth in all of it.

He does understand.

But understanding something does not mean approving it.

A parent can understand why their child made a poor decision without approving the decision.

And God can understand exactly why we are tempted without changing what He has already told us is right.

God's compassion is not permission to disobey Him.

His understanding of our weakness does not mean we should make peace with our weakness.

In fact, Scripture tells us:

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”— John 14:15, KJV

The question is therefore not simply:

“Does God understand why I'm doing this?”

Of course He does.

The better question is:

“Even though God understands me, am I willing to obey Him?”

Because sometimes “God understands” is not faith.

Sometimes it is simply a more comfortable way of saying:

“I know what God says, but I really don't want to give this up.”

And we need to be honest enough with ourselves to recognise the difference.

Comfort Can Become a Spiritual Distraction

The enemy does not always need to destroy someone's life to keep them distracted from God.

Sometimes comfort is enough.

Enough money to stay entertained.

Enough success to feel secure.

Enough affection to feel satisfied.

Enough travel to stay busy.

Enough pleasure to avoid sitting still.

Enough happiness that we never stop long enough to examine whether our lives are actually aligned with God's Word.

A person can be spiritually asleep while their earthly life appears to be going beautifully.

And sometimes the greatest distraction is not a bad life.

It is a good life that has become more important to us than God.

That is why we should not wait for everything to fall apart before we examine ourselves.

We should not need heartbreak to ask whether our relationship is honouring God.

We should not need financial hardship to ask whether we are making wise decisions.

We should not need a crisis to remember that God should be at the centre of our lives.

When Everything Is Good, Still Seek God

There is nothing wrong with enjoying good things.

God is not against happiness, marriage, prosperity, holidays, friendship, laughter or beautiful experiences.

The problem begins when those things become so satisfying that we stop seeking Him.

We should not need a crisis to remember God.

We should not need heartbreak to examine our lives.

We should not need hardship before we become willing to ask difficult questions.

Seek God while things are good.

Thank Him when life is peaceful.

Ask Him for wisdom when everything appears to be working.

Examine your decisions even when you are happy with them.

Because the greatest test of our relationship with God is not always what we do when everything falls apart.

Sometimes it is what we do when everything appears to be going perfectly.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”— Matthew 6:33, KJV

The order matters.

Seek God first.

Not after the relationship.

Not after the money.

Not after the holiday.

Not after the career.

Not after everything else has been made comfortable.

God comes first.

Because if God's Word tells us to surrender something, we cannot use the happiness it gives us as evidence that we should keep it.

If the relationship satisfies our flesh but requires us to compromise our obedience, the good feelings do not make the compromise righteous.

And if we know something is contrary to God's will, continuing to enjoy it does not make the conviction disappear.

It simply gives us more opportunities to ignore it.

So perhaps one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is this:

If the comfort disappeared tomorrow, would I still believe this was God's will?

And even more importantly:

If God asked me to surrender the very thing I want most, would I still choose Him?

Because ultimately, following God is not about getting Him to agree with our desires.

It is about being willing to surrender our desires to Him.

Do I want God's will—or do I simply want God to approve of mine?

That is a question worth being brave enough to answer.

https://www.yeshuachristislife.com/post/good-vibes-are-not-the-same-as-god-s-approval