It's a Small, Small Thing

One of my most difficult life-time struggles has been "people pleasing". It is a hard master and one that brings with it a great deal of pain. I find that I chase myself around in circles trying to make everyone around me happy. And in the meantime, I fall further and further behind.

Recently, I was listening to a great sermon by James MacDonald of Harvest Church in Illinois and the title of the message was "No more people pleasing". It was by no coincidence that I heard this sermon at this particular point in time. God knew that I really have been struggling with a lot of family issues of late and that I was being torn apart by them. Trying to meet the needs of everyone and finding that I was failing at every turn made me feel more discouraged than I have in a very long time. In fact, as I wrote earlier - I hit the wall.

But, I was reminded that it is a very small thing what others think of me. And it is even a smaller thing what I think of myself. What really matters at the end of the day is what God thinks of me. You can look at me with displeasure because I do not measure up to the standards that you have set for me but it is only God's standard that I have to measure myself with.

God has provided through His mercy, salvation. This gift, which I have unfortunately at times treated very casually has become the focus of my life. I no longer want what the world wants. I want what God wants for my life. I fear what it will be like to stand in front of a righteous God and have nothing to cast at the feet of my Savior.

And so it is a small thing whether or not I am a success here on this earth based on human standards. I want only to be more in love with my Lord. I want only to bring Him pleasure and to become a sweet smelling savor as a sacrifice of praise to HIm.