Devotionals
Are You Pleasing Man or God?
by Brooke Cason
Scripture Reading: Galatians 1:10
"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
So often we spend most of our lives worried about being pleasing to those around us. We are constantly asking ourselves these questions:
- Have I done something to upset that person (when you really can’t think of anything you’ve done wrong)?
- Am I a constant disappointment to my loved ones?
- Do I meet the standards of those around me?
- Am I doing what others think I should be doing?
This list of questions could go on and on. These are all questions that have ran through my mind lately. It seems like life is full of negativity. Everywhere I turn, satan is throwing up something negative to pull me down, and he uses those closest to me to do this. I know I’m not the only person who feels this way! I’m tired of fighting the battle of “man pleasing.” I can’t constantly worry about what others think of me. I have to live for God, do what HE has called me to do, and seek to be pleasing to HIM and to HIM only. As long as I feel that I am pleasing God, then those who love me unconditionally ,as He loves me will be pleased as well. Being pleasing to Him doesn’t mean that I won’t fail Him in the “pleasing department.” I’m not perfect and will never claim to be. Trust me, I’m far from it.
From this moment forward, I’m concentrating on pleasing God. I want my life to be filled with blessings from above and not heartaches from this world that we live in. I’m choosing positivity over negativity because God is positive! Have you ever hung around with negative people for any amount of time? Have you noticed that their negativity will rub off on you? I have experienced this first hand. Misery loves company!
Choosing to be positive doesn’t mean that battles won’t come; they will. But if you fight that battle with the positivity from God, the battle can’t bring you down. It will only make you stronger. I have to put God first, then my family, then everything else will fall into the correct priority. Putting God first doesn’t mean you should teach Sunday school because someone tells you that you should, or preach because someone told you that you’ve been called to do so, or serve on a church board because they think you should. Putting God first means: Know what He has for you to do to further His Kingdom and do it! Study His Word, pray to Him daily, and serve Him to the best of your ability. He is our Supreme Authority and Judge. Others may cast judgment on you, but their judgment doesn’t really matter, but His does!
SEEK TO PLEASE GOD!!! He’s the One you have to answer to in the end times! Just like our Scripture text says, “for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
- 5 Comments
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- Posted by: Brooke Cason
Comments
Brooke, this is great and you know when we are serving God that is when the devil really kicks up or atleast with me, I have really been trying more these last few weeks and the devil sure dont like it one little bit but I am learning more how to I quess handle the situations I dont know if that is the correct way of saying it but you probably know what I mean...I am not going to let the devil win this round, things are so much better than they were and the devil knows that and he is trying to find ways to get in now its with the kids they are giving us hard time but we are handling it so much better than we ever have and I owe all of this to God..He is so good and I just thank Him for what He is doing in our lives.. Just keep us in yalls prayers and I want you to know I am praying for yall also and hoping Labron gets better each and every day....Love ya, Ann
Brooke, Thanks for the wonderful devotion! I needed it soooo bad! Jim & I stayed up till 5 AM this morning dealing with this same issue. My husband was faced with the hardest decision he has ever had to make yesterday at church. We had people on both sides of the issue (good people, not trouble makers). So we knew that one way or the other someone would disagree. Jim had to do what God showed him to do. I don"t know whats going to happen, but he obeyed God & the rest is out of our hands! If God be for us, who can be against us!!! I totally agree on the negativity issue also! I have been trying to keep scripture on my heart & mind to keep it out & hang out with people who are positive. I'm glad I can stand on HIS promises even when the world around me sees no hope! Girl, it's a SPIRITUAL BATTLE, but we are NOT ALONE!!! We can't fight the battle, but GOD can!!! We love yall & stand strong! Keep your eyes on HIM & HIS WORD! We are in this thing together!!!
Jennifer, You are right on target. We are in this battle together. It is a constant battle, but He is on our side. That's what matters. He has already won the battle and victory is ours! I will be praying for you and Jim. I know that pastoring isn't easy...as a matter of fact, I'm thankful that God has us doing what we are doing. We can walk in and walk out after ministering. You have to hang around that battle. I know it's hard, but hang in there. Love you girl, Brooke
Brooke, what an awesome,true, and much needed post. This verse has become one I quote and read quite often. Can I say that I felt like it was saying 'Kristi' all the way through it? I am so trying to get out of 'people-pleasing' and I am learning, and trying, to please Him and only Him. This is a hard task for me, but with His help, I know I can overcome! Love ya girlie!
I just wanted to thank you for your prayers this week. We had one of the best services today. God showed up in an amazing way! People were shouting and weeping all over the place! GOD IS SO GOOD!!! Love ya sis!
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