People-Pleaser or God-Pleaser

People-Pleaser or God-Pleaser

Pleasing others…I don’t know about you, but for me, pleasing others is a huge part of my life. I like knowing that I have been pleasing to my parents, my friends, my family, and co-workers. We all enjoy a little pat on the back now and then and love to hear the words, “job well done.”

However, sometimes, I feel that my longing to please others can be a downfall. I focus so much on pleasing others that I begin to lack in other areas of importance. It wasn’t long ago that I felt God reminding me that my ultimate goal here on earth should not be to please others to please Him.

I was gently reminded that while God wants us to be pleasing to others to a point, He does not want that to overshadow our desire to please Him. If pleasing others is taking time from your family, causing stress and tension, or giving you an excuse to remain “too busy” for God, it may be time to reexamine your priorities.

I want to suggest to you that rather than being “people-pleasers”, we should be “God-pleasers.” Instead of struggling day after day to make others happy, we should be joyfully serving the very God that gave us the lives that we have.

Many of us don’t know how we can make God happy. We wonder what in the world we can do to bring joy to our Father in Heaven.

Deuteronomy 30:10 says, “The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey His voice and keep the commands and laws written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.”

God longs for us to be obedient to Him and His word. Giving Him our heart and soul and allowing Him to reign in our lives, brings Him joy. And ultimately, bringing Him joy, is the only way that we can have true joy.

Proverbs also lists several ways that we can bring our King joy.

”The Lord…delights in honesty.” Proverbs 11:1 ~ God wants us to be honest with ourselves, others, and honest with Him. He knows our hearts and there is nothing that we can hide from Him. Honesty with God allows our relationship with Him to grow and without that honesty, God cannot move in our lives.

“The Lord…delights in those who have integrity.” Proverbs 11:20 ~ People with integrity do the right thing no matter what the circumstances might be. God wants us to make choices based on His word and His instructions. He does not want us to base our choices on what the world says or what the world offers.

“The Lord…delights in the prayers of the upright.” Proverbs 15:8 ~ God loves to hear from us just as we love to hear from our children. He longs to have His children come before Him for advice, wisdom, comfort, and love. He waits with open arms for us to submit our cares to Him and promises to not only listen, but bring a peace that we cannot receive from anywhere else.

And finally,

“The Lord…delights in pure words.” Proverbs 15:26 ~ The Lord delights when His children speak according to His word. When we are kind, encouraging, and loving to others, we are allowing God to work through us. We are allowing God to use us in a mighty way and in doing that, we are pleasing our Father.

Pleasing God instead of others. Try to make that your goal for this week and you will be amazed at how much easier it is and how much more joy it will bring. And the amazing thing is that from pleasing God and bringing Him joy, will come the amazing ability to bring joy to the people around you.

Ask God today to reveal Himself to you. Ask Him what you can do to please Him today. Be obedient to His word and let honesty, integrity, prayer, and kindness be your desire. Give Him your heart and soul and watch as He transforms your desire to be a people pleaser into a desire to be a GOD PLEASER!!!

Have a wonderful week!!

Some Things to Think About:

Are you a people pleaser?
What have you done lately to please God?
Do you have a desire to please others more than your desire to please God?

Words of Worth:

“The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey His voice and keep the commands and laws written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.” Deuteronomy 30:10

“The Lord delights in His people; He crowns the humble with salvation.” Psalm 149:4

“Give me happiness, O Lord, for my life depends on YOU.” Psalm 86:4