Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Pleasing Everyone
Weekend Music links on iTunes: All Over the World by Matt Redman; Hosanna by Paul Baloche; You'll Come by Hillsong; Rescue by Desperation Band; None but Jesus by Brooke Fraser.
Read: Proverbs 29:25, James 4:8
Think: Bill Cosby once said, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” I have often thought of pleasing people as trying to hit a moving target. But not like the clay pigeon kind of target where you can pretty much predict where and when the thing is coming. People pleasing is more like trying to hit a flock of crazed pigeons flying every which way. You may get one or two, but when you’re trying for all of them, you’ll miss more than you hit.
Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man is a snare, but the one who trusts in the Lord is protected.” People like to be liked. People are afraid of being disliked or being disrespected. This is what the writer of Proverbs is referring to. Often times, when trying to gain the approval of someone else, we do things to get them to like us. We may even end up doing or saying things that aren’t representative of who we really are. This is what the bible refers to as being “double minded” or duplicitous. We end up being a lesser version of ourselves, watered down by others’ expectations in order not to be distasteful to anyone, and missing the mark of pleasing the Only One who matters- God.
Oh, and by the way, I really want you to like this devotion, and hope that you think that I am a wonderful writer and Christian. Oh, and I hope I don’t offend you, bore you, or give you the wrong idea. I hope this devotional is pleasing to you because, darn it, I really want you to like me.
Oh shoot, I’ve done it again. What I mean to say is, “God, I want this devotion to please You and to accomplish what You want it to accomplish. I am glad for the gifts You’ve given me, and I am really glad I get to use them to make a difference in the world. Now I give this little scrap of writing to you as a means of worship and ask that You bless it. Thank You.”
Whew, I’m glad I got that taken care of! The truth is, when I seek to please the Father, I hit my mark every time. Not because I’m a really good shot, but because He’s made the target so attainable. The relationship is the target. Just coming to Him, surrendering to Him, and learning from Him is the goal of the whole darn target practice. The goal is not shooting perfectly, the goal is being with the Father. Just showing up with a yielded spirit is pleasing to God. When I do that, I don’t have to worry about pleasing anyone else.
Do: Think of one person from whom you crave approval or are afraid of disappointing Ask God to help you surrender those feelings to Him, and to live in the constant available pleasure of your Father.
Pray: Thank you God, for the gifts that you have given to me to use in worship and work for you. I don’t want to try to please other people any more. I don’t want the frustrating process of never being able to get it right. I want to please You alone, because You love me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.
|
