There is something in our human nature that causes us to want to please people. Whether it stems from a desire to bring happiness to others, to fit in, to want recognition, or to look good, people pleasing is something that most people struggle with some way.
I want everyone to be happy and everyone to be happy with me. I feel like I have a lot of expectations to live up to. But God has been working on my heart to break me of this "addiction". It's been a slow and uncomfortable process, but one that is truly starting to change my view about pleasing others. Here are a few things God has showed me...
Fact 1: You can't please everyone. It is impossible. It's been said over and over again but obviously we aren't getting it, so let me say it again...IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE EVERYONE! There are people who will never be happy, no matter what you do or don't do. There are people who always find something to complain about. So don't make yourself crazy trying to please them because you never will.
Fact 2: You can't listen to what everyone says. Many great works of God have been hindered and even completely halted because a person has listened to negative feedback, complaining, why they can't do something, etc. Take people's comments to prayer and ask God to help you discern what to keep and what to throw away. Then really throw it away.
Fact 3: Jesus didn't people please. So all those people who try to discourage you, guilt you, control you...you don't have to buy into it! Jesus constantly faced people who tried to manipulate him, especially (interestingly enough) from religious folks. And some of them really meant well. Remember that many times Satan uses Christians against each other. Sad but oh so true.
What I have to do is daily get a hold of God and get in His Word. He gives me discernment to separate truth from fiction. I have to know who God wants me to minister to and what He is calling me to do. The bottom line is this: the Bible says as much as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. But it doesn't say live to please everyone. When all is said and done, you will stand before God, not man, so live your life to please Him.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Glory To Glory
"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14
Sometimes, we just have to let things go. And sometimes, the things we must let go of aren't necessarily bad, but they must be left behind in order for us to move forward with God's calling on our lives. Just because it's a godly thing doesn't mean it's what God wants for your life at this time. In fact, more times than not, God calls people OUT of their place of contentment.
It's a lot easier to let go of something bad or something that is causing problems in our lives than it is to let go of something that is good, something you enjoy.
Glory to glory: Letting go of something good to get something better.
However, that 'something better' initially may not seem as such. But if you trust God and are obedient to step out in faith, He will eventually work all things out for your benefit, whether that be a place of contentment, growth, or trial.
"Prune off the activities that fill your day but don't add to your life. Sometimes we hold onto assignments that God is finished with for us. Ask God for wisdom, then walk away from tasks He is no longer asking you to do. Make room for new life to flourish through the work of your hands." Joyce Meyer, Starting Your Day Right
Sometimes, we just have to let things go. And sometimes, the things we must let go of aren't necessarily bad, but they must be left behind in order for us to move forward with God's calling on our lives. Just because it's a godly thing doesn't mean it's what God wants for your life at this time. In fact, more times than not, God calls people OUT of their place of contentment.
It's a lot easier to let go of something bad or something that is causing problems in our lives than it is to let go of something that is good, something you enjoy.
Glory to glory: Letting go of something good to get something better.
However, that 'something better' initially may not seem as such. But if you trust God and are obedient to step out in faith, He will eventually work all things out for your benefit, whether that be a place of contentment, growth, or trial.
"Prune off the activities that fill your day but don't add to your life. Sometimes we hold onto assignments that God is finished with for us. Ask God for wisdom, then walk away from tasks He is no longer asking you to do. Make room for new life to flourish through the work of your hands." Joyce Meyer, Starting Your Day Right
Monday, December 27, 2010
Expecting the Unexpected
The Old Testament has many prophecies concerning the promised Messiah of Israel, a Savior and Deliverer of God's chosen people. These prophecies were fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Jesus was the promised Savior of Israel. But God didn’t send him in the way the Israelites had expected. The Jewish people were so focused on their IDEA for deliverance that when deliverance came, they completely missed it!
How many of us know that God doesn't always work the way we expect? We pray for God to move, to act, to deliver us from whatever we are going through. We have an idea in our minds of what that may entail. We pray specifically for God to move in the ways we think He should. But many times, God has a different way of doing things. And because we are so focused on how WE believe things should happen, when God does send deliverance our way, we don't see it.
A man caught in a terrible flood climbed on top of his house to avoid the rising water and prayed that God would save him. A few minutes later a boat came by and offered him a ride. “No, thank you,” he said, “I trust God to rescue me.” A few minutes later a helicopter flew overhead and dropped down a rope ladder. His response, "I'm believing God to deliver me." Finally, another boat came by and offered to help him, but no, he was waiting on God. He was eventually overcome by the water and lost in the flood. In heaven he asked God why He didn’t save him. God’s response was simple: “I sent you two boats and a helicopter, but you wouldn’t accept My help!”
God's ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts above our thoughts. He has a plan. Someone once told me to pray with expectancy but not with expectations. Move forward with open eyes, watching for God to move. But even more than open eyes, walk forward with an open mind, watching for the unexpected.
How many of us know that God doesn't always work the way we expect? We pray for God to move, to act, to deliver us from whatever we are going through. We have an idea in our minds of what that may entail. We pray specifically for God to move in the ways we think He should. But many times, God has a different way of doing things. And because we are so focused on how WE believe things should happen, when God does send deliverance our way, we don't see it.
A man caught in a terrible flood climbed on top of his house to avoid the rising water and prayed that God would save him. A few minutes later a boat came by and offered him a ride. “No, thank you,” he said, “I trust God to rescue me.” A few minutes later a helicopter flew overhead and dropped down a rope ladder. His response, "I'm believing God to deliver me." Finally, another boat came by and offered to help him, but no, he was waiting on God. He was eventually overcome by the water and lost in the flood. In heaven he asked God why He didn’t save him. God’s response was simple: “I sent you two boats and a helicopter, but you wouldn’t accept My help!”
God's ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts above our thoughts. He has a plan. Someone once told me to pray with expectancy but not with expectations. Move forward with open eyes, watching for God to move. But even more than open eyes, walk forward with an open mind, watching for the unexpected.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Mary Did You Know
I was driving in the car listening to Christmas music on the radio, and the song "Mary Did You Know" came on. A standard Christmas staple, I've heard the song for many years but today, for some reason, the words not only reached my ears but into my heart...the heart of a mother. The lyric that says, "And when you kiss your little baby, you've kissed the face of God" made me instantly think of my precious baby boy. I love kissing his face, chubby cheeks and all.
I wonder if Mary knew then, everything that was going to happen in her baby boy's life. She knew that he was going to be great and would do great things, how many other babies are welcomed by a choir of angels? But did she truly realize what Jesus would face in the end of his time on earth?
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." (Luke 1:38)
This young mother would go from watching her beloved first-born child enter the world with great joy and peace, to watching her beloved first-born leave this world in agony and distress. As she watched his death, I imagine that her thoughts went back to the day he was born...holding her son in her arms, smelling his new baby smell, listening to him breathe. And now, all of her hope and love and life was up on a cross to die.
But it never did.
Jesus came back to life. Even in the midst of what she believed to be her greatest pain and suffering, that hope and love and life was now stronger than ever! Not only that, but it was also extended to the entire world. God had a bigger purpose for Jesus' life and death.
In the midst of your suffering, you can have hope and love and life...through Jesus Christ!! God sent His only Son to die so that our sins would be forgiven, so we would never be alone, and to know the meaning of unconditional love.
Mary didn't understand, but in her greatest loss, she received her greatest gift.
In whatever you are dealing with today, know that God has a purpose.
I wonder if Mary knew then, everything that was going to happen in her baby boy's life. She knew that he was going to be great and would do great things, how many other babies are welcomed by a choir of angels? But did she truly realize what Jesus would face in the end of his time on earth?
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." (Luke 1:38)
This young mother would go from watching her beloved first-born child enter the world with great joy and peace, to watching her beloved first-born leave this world in agony and distress. As she watched his death, I imagine that her thoughts went back to the day he was born...holding her son in her arms, smelling his new baby smell, listening to him breathe. And now, all of her hope and love and life was up on a cross to die.
But it never did.
Jesus came back to life. Even in the midst of what she believed to be her greatest pain and suffering, that hope and love and life was now stronger than ever! Not only that, but it was also extended to the entire world. God had a bigger purpose for Jesus' life and death.
In the midst of your suffering, you can have hope and love and life...through Jesus Christ!! God sent His only Son to die so that our sins would be forgiven, so we would never be alone, and to know the meaning of unconditional love.
Mary didn't understand, but in her greatest loss, she received her greatest gift.
In whatever you are dealing with today, know that God has a purpose.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Isaiah 41
In this world of Twitter, Blogger, Word Press, etc., there are countless ways for people to share their thoughts and opinions. And that I believe is a good thing, it is always good to hear a new perspective. Christian blogs, Bible studies, and daily devotionals are all great tools to take advantage of, but we must not get so caught up in them that we miss the basic truth that is simply the Word of God. So today, I want to share something that God has continually been bringing to my attention over the past week. No thoughts, no opinions, no commentary. Just the Word.
Isaiah 41 - The Helper of Israel
1 “Be silent before me, you islands!
Let the nations renew their strength!
Let them come forward and speak;
let us meet together at the place of judgment.
2 “Who has stirred up one from the east,
calling him in righteousness to his service[a]?
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
to windblown chaff with his bow.
3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,
by a path his feet have not traveled before.
4 Who has done this and carried it through,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD—with the first of them
and with the last—I am he.”
5 The islands have seen it and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward;
6 they help each other
and say to their companions, “Be strong!”
7 The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,
and the one who smooths with the hammer
spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.
One says of the welding, “It is good.”
The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.
8 “But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11 “All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.
12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.
13 For I am the LORD your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the LORD
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the LORD will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
20 so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 “Present your case,” says the LORD.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
22 “Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.
Tell us what the former things were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,
23 tell us what the future holds,
so we may know that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,
so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
24 But you are less than nothing
and your works are utterly worthless;
whoever chooses you is detestable.
25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold it,
no one heard any words from you.
27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.
28 I look but there is no one—
no one among the gods to give counsel,
no one to give answer when I ask them.
29 See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;
their images are but wind and confusion.
Isaiah 41 - The Helper of Israel
1 “Be silent before me, you islands!
Let the nations renew their strength!
Let them come forward and speak;
let us meet together at the place of judgment.
2 “Who has stirred up one from the east,
calling him in righteousness to his service[a]?
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
to windblown chaff with his bow.
3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,
by a path his feet have not traveled before.
4 Who has done this and carried it through,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD—with the first of them
and with the last—I am he.”
5 The islands have seen it and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward;
6 they help each other
and say to their companions, “Be strong!”
7 The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,
and the one who smooths with the hammer
spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.
One says of the welding, “It is good.”
The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.
8 “But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11 “All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.
12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.
13 For I am the LORD your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the LORD
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the LORD will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
20 so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 “Present your case,” says the LORD.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
22 “Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.
Tell us what the former things were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,
23 tell us what the future holds,
so we may know that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,
so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
24 But you are less than nothing
and your works are utterly worthless;
whoever chooses you is detestable.
25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold it,
no one heard any words from you.
27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.
28 I look but there is no one—
no one among the gods to give counsel,
no one to give answer when I ask them.
29 See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;
their images are but wind and confusion.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The Power of Yet
"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. YET this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him..."
Lamentations 3: 19- 25
So small, yet so powerful. It's a verse I have both read and have heard quoted countless times. But one day during a trying time in my life, one small word jumped out at me... YET. As I sat and thought about its meaning, I realized that not only was it a powerful word but, even more, it is a powerful action. YET is a word of faith, hope, and determination. You choose to do something or believe something, even though circumstances and feelings may tell you otherwise. I love the way the New Living Translation of the Bible quotes verse 21, "Yet I still dare to hope..."
YET means it's not over. God is moving. Whatever situation you are facing today, remember that God's compassion is new every morning. Do not be consumed. Dare to hope.
Lamentations 3: 19- 25
So small, yet so powerful. It's a verse I have both read and have heard quoted countless times. But one day during a trying time in my life, one small word jumped out at me... YET. As I sat and thought about its meaning, I realized that not only was it a powerful word but, even more, it is a powerful action. YET is a word of faith, hope, and determination. You choose to do something or believe something, even though circumstances and feelings may tell you otherwise. I love the way the New Living Translation of the Bible quotes verse 21, "Yet I still dare to hope..."
YET means it's not over. God is moving. Whatever situation you are facing today, remember that God's compassion is new every morning. Do not be consumed. Dare to hope.
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