“The Lord is with me, what can mere mortals do to me? (Psalm 118:6 NIV)
This is going to sound strange, but this morning I read this psalm and got to thinking about people pleasing. I recognized how our fear of mortals can sometimes overshadow or out-shout our fear of God. To be fair, people pleasing is long-time habit of mine that the Lord has been persistently evicting from my heart. For whatever reason, as I read today’s psalm, I just kept thinking about how the personal policy of pleasing others interferes with our ability pleasing God.
People pleasing might actually be a lack of trust in the Almighty.. It might just be misplaced faith in mere humans to contribute to our destiny. How easily we forget, God alone is the Promoter and Demoter. He merely employs people to make the earthly arrangements. In our endless scurrying to please people, we are wasting resources that rightfully belong to our God and King.
Please forgive us, Lord.
“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes.” (Psalm 118:8-9 NIV)
People fail all the time. God never fails. Why do we chase after fickle, failing people when we could be chasing after Him? What if we, instead, spent the bulk (if not all) of our limited resources on the Lord.
“I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me.” (Psalm 118:13 NIV)
As we gain confidence – faith in God – and let go of our need to please people – we will inevitably experience push back. The people who are accustomed to ruling over us will be surprised by our change of heart. But God, our defender, will fight our battles. And He’ll love us even when it feels like maybe no one else does.
“I will give You thanks, for You have answered me; You have become my salvation.” (Psalm 118:21 NIV)
When we fear God most, He becomes our salvation. We are not longer fueled by the the opinions or fleeting praise of others. His steadfast love and unflinching faithfulness become the sure foundation of our lives, replacing the ever-shifting sands of public option. We can rest and rejoice in our salvation from sin and social pressure alike.
“You are my God and I will praise You. You are my God, and I will exalt You.” (Psalm 118:28 NIV)
God-pleasing acknowledges the Lord’s place of prominence in our life. He belongs far atop of everything lesser. He is first and most and greatest. He is rightly seen: supreme over every lesser created thing. People pleasing subtly attempts to dethrone Him, allowing mere humans to call the shots and accumulate worship. Today we reject that. We want to honor God first and foremost forever. He is our God and all the praise and glory belong to Him alone.
Lord, You are our all. Please strip away our people pleasing tendencies. May we only, truly pursue what pleases You. Occupy the throne of our hearts and make Your way known. We want to honor You in all we say and think and do. Amen.