My goal is to please God.

Scripture Reference: Galatians 1:10, NLT- “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”

As a recovering people pleaser, this scripture hits home with me. For much of my life I lived as a chameleon and my goal was to be whoever I perceived the person in front of me expected me to be.

At approximately forty years of age, I recall a small group question that asked, “ If you could be or do anything in the world and you knew you could not fail, what would you do or be?” I recall the blankness in my mind. I had zero passions in my life but to be who others thought I should be.

In recovery terms this is classic behaviors of codependence. I was codependent and lost in a world of trying to please everyone but God. I could talk a good God game, but I really was not living for God.

I have also found that God has the craziest ways of getting us to where we need to be to hear him. Even this morning, I came across an affirmation “I am trying to please God.” I had captured over the years in Galatians but had failed to record the chapter and verse. I began re-reading Galatians to see how I came up with this statement.

Searching my Excel spreadsheet of affirmations I also found that I had written “My goal is to please God.” First in June 9,2010 from 2 Corinthians 5 9 , NKJV- “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”

Continuing to follow the database search, I found that I had also written blogs in both 2014 and 2015 entitled “I aim to please God.” Referencing  the ESV version of 2 Corinthians 5:9 “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.”

I then found where I had already saved “My goal is to please God” from Ecclesiastes 2:26 where King Solomon had written “To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (NIV)

Once I found Galatians 1:10 and returned the spreadsheet, I was surprised that I had written a portion of my book Every Affirmation you will ever need entitled “I am seeking to please You God.” From the King James Version “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.”

Even when we are unaware, God has a way of getting us to His wisdom, knowledge, and joy when we are seeking to please Him. Who are you seeking to please today?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for providing us with the ways to please You. Forgive me LORD for when I have spent too much time and effort attempting to please anyone else. Thank You, LORD, for granting us the wisdom, knowledge, and joy to live a meaningful life that pleases You. In the name of Jesus Christ, we do pray and serve. Amen.