Galatians 1:10, New International Version

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

God's love is an all-consuming fire! It refines, it purifies, it makes new! It is true that God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose! But are we looking for Him? Are we listening for Him? Or are we consumed with today's worries and tomorrow's worries, and the worries of next week or month? I am so thankful that God doesn't give up on me! And you should be thankful that He doesn't give up on you! Together, we can go through this faith walk, even in the difficult moments, and encourage one another to look for God and to find Him! That is what I want to do here today.

God has taught me a lesson that is so beautiful! This is it: I will never be able to please people. Everyone I know and love, the people I rub shoulders with on a daily basis or even random people I see throughout my day, I will never be able to completely please. There will always be something I could have "done better." People will always find something to be disappointed with. This leaves us going through a vicious cycle. If our emotions are based on the reaction of another individual for the "good" we did or tried to do, and they are disappointed, it sets us up to be disappointed, feeling rejected, feeling unloved, feeling unappreciated, feeling like we need to do better or try harder next time just to repeat the cycle and find that it was never good enough. This could cause us to beat ourselves up even more. It's a vicious cycle that keeps us bound to pleasing people and out of the will of God. But this truth should be something to be excited about, because when we come to the realization that we can never please people, we can then fully turn to and submit to the One we can please—God, our heavenly Father!

You see, our Father is the One who created us. He knows us more intimately than we know ourselves. What He did for us, giving His one and only Son, Jesus, to die for us, so that we could have forgiveness of sins and be redeemed, was all done for love. This is a gift that is freely given. We cannot work to earn it. It is freely given so that no man can boast. His love is freely given. Out of this love that is so freely given, shouldn't we want to please God? Not because we have to, but because we want to. Because we love Him! Paul said in Galatians 1:10 (NIV), “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” We are servants of Christ. If we love Him, then we obey His commands: Love God and love people. We love people because we love God. By walking out who we believe in and what we believe in, Christ is shown to the people in our day-to-day life.  

This may sound like something that is easier said than done. Perhaps it is, but God's word says that His power is perfect in our weaknesses. We must stay cognizant of pleasing God. By pleasing God and obeying His commands, we are treating people and loving people how God wants us to treat them and love them. Even in moments of difficulty, love should provoke us to do what is right, not to compromise or ignore the needs of others. The desire to please God should be what is behind our motivation. Because we love God, we love people with truth, with integrity, with actions, and with words. Don't let your mind go back to what other people think or their reactions towards your actions or words...Keep your mind on things above. What does God think? Did I do what He wanted me to do and was He pleased? When we adopt this mindset, I believe we will walk in more freedom and more victories because we are walking in the faith and confidence of God and His word! Our hope is in Christ, not people.