It is a quest we've all pursued at one time or another, and some are still pursuing it. We all want to feel good about ourselves. We all want to think that we are okay. This is a fearful and anxious quest that only God's grace can free you from.
Here's what happens to us all-we seek horizontally(from other people) for the personal rest that we can only find vertically(from God) and so it never works.
Looking to other people for your inner sense of well-being is pointless. First, you will never be good enough to get the regular praise of others that you are seeking. You're going to mess up. You're going to disappoint. You will have a bad day. You'll lose your way. At some point, you'll say or do things you shouldn't. Add to this the fact that the people around you aren't typically interested in taking on the burden of being your personal Messiah. They don't want to live with the responsibility of having your identity in their hands. So looking to people for your inner self worth never works....
Now let's talk about success in the world. The peace that success gives is unreliable as well. Since you are less than perfect, whatever success you are able to achieve will soon be followed by failure of some kind. Then there is the fact that the buzz of success is short-lived. It isn't long before you're searching for the next "success" to keep you going.
That is why the reality that Jesus has become your righteousness is so precious. His grace has forever freed us from needing to prove our righteousness and our worth.
So we have to remind ourselves daily not to search horizontally for what we've already been given vertically.
"And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever." (Isaiah 32:17)
That righteousness is found in Christ alone.
