Pleasing God or pleasing people?

In recent weeks, I've heard and read some statements that seemed written in BOLD PRINT for my heart when I encountered them. I'll summarize those so you have the context of this post.
1. A wise friend in Alaska lovingly pointed out a long-standing struggle I've had trying to please people and that I too often live with concerns about what people think of my actions/decisions.
2. Last Sunday, our pastor said, "Every great vision will have critics...Run after the vision God gave you...There are no monuments to critics."
3. Two days ago, while reading a Bible passage, I was stopped in my mental and spiritual tracks by this statement - "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

I was grieved to realize in that moment I was a slave to people - anyone that seems to care or have an opinion about the pursuit of God's vision for my life. I know I very much want to be a voluntary servant of God (bondservant), but I've fallen into the trap of involuntary servitude to people far too often! When I let myself be consumed with what others think about my pursuit of God's calling on my life more than what God Himself has told me to do, I've chosen slavery to those people rather than to God.

Taken together, it is clear my current assignment from God is to wrestle through this habit and pull this "weed" up, roots and all, by the power of God working in me. I know the roots of this struggle were established when I was abused by a school teacher in second grade. I know the weed was watered along the way by events in junior high and high school. I know God has already begun a good work in me to pull this weed out, roots and all. It must be time to take the next step in that process of being made into the image of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

In Galatians 5:1, the Apostle Paul declares, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a joke of slavery."

Cooperating with God for victory,
Linda

Now what?

For years, I have dreamed of preaching the good news God shares with me to men and women on a large scale. The dream has been squashed by myself and others and I've denied I ever wanted it to deal with the pain of setting it aside. I've longed for it and been discouraged, I've dusted it off and then feared it.

There were barriers to the pursuit of that dream along the way, some real and some imagined that seemed just as real. Now that all the barriers are gone, I'm confronted with questions I'd never noticed before.

These questions occupy my thoughts almost daily now:
Is this truly my dream? Now that it is possible, do I want to do it? Why do I hesitate? What do I fear?

God says, "Do not fear" about 143 times in the Bible. I know He wants me to believe Him to do great and mighty things for my good, no matter how impossible they seem to me. I know operating in fear is not operating in faith in my God who is good and cares personally about every detail of my life (Psalm 139; Jeremiah 29:11). I feel paralyzed somewhere deep down.

I'm on new frontiers and taking baby steps.

Without barriers, would you pursue your dream? Would your dream be the same?

Living the Dream

I've borrowed the title and some of the content of this post from the sermon series Daniel Floyd is teaching at  (Lifepoint Church). 

I have been dusting off a dream that had been squashed under the "you can't do that!" of others. This week's sermon was about letting God's opinion of me matter more than the opinion of people. I've heard many talks about the subject and even have a few up my sleeve that I've offered to myself and others along the way. What was different this time? God spoke to my heart and called me out. He said I needed to LIVE the dream He planted in my heart rather than wait for people to approve of it. What a challenge!

What is your dream? Have you put it in a well-hidden part of your heart and left it there hoping one day it would be fulfilled in an instant? Have you dismissed it as too grand or too risky? Have you hoped God would come up with a different dream, one that is easier to do or achieve?

The world around you needs the dream God put in your heart - that God-sized, I-can-only-do-it-If-God-makes-a-way dream. What good and worthy things will happen if you go for it? What might be lost if you don't?

If you only knew the Jesus I love

At a recent home group meeting, a man shared that his son believes lots of people want to know God, especially the God we love and serve who is kind, strong, good, full of love and much more. I was deeply impacted by the mindset with which this young man shares God with people. I think he's right. People really do want to know the God we find in the pages of the Bible (when taken as a whole, not randomly extracted in little bits), just not the small, petty, vindictive god often depicted by some.

Resolved: I will take more risks to tell people about the God I love and why my life is so much better WITH him in it!

Eagerness or Impatience

We have made it safely to Virginia from Alaska in the past month. Our temporary living arrangement is comfortable by many global standards, if not American ones. We have been blessed with the resources to shop for a nice home, an option far beyond the reach of many in this world. I wish I could say that I'm simply grateful for that and that my mind is at rest, but I'm simply not there yet!

I awoke this morning thinking about the big decisions ahead of me and wondered why I'm thinking so far ahead of the moment I am in. Am I impatient to get settled or eager to start on the next adventure? Am I worrying about the decisions or wisely pondering the options before us? The answer to both questions is, "Yes!" I am both impatient and eager, worried and wise. Perhaps living with that paradox and not striving for perfection of heart will bring rest to my soul. My head knows that God, who brought us through the past nine months of major changes, has not abandoned me and has good plans for me. I know that He works in ways far beyond my comprehension and that He orchestrates many details ahead of revealing my next step to me. As a recovering perfectionist, I long for these facts to rule my mind and heart yet I know that being aware of them is progress in a healthy direction.

I am not naturally drawn to adventure. I love watching and celebrating others' exciting treks from the comfort of a stable, comfortable place. Without adventure, life is routine and quiet and quite possibly dull!  I married a man drawn to adventure and eager to see what's around every next corner of life. I have traveled a good part of this huge world as a result and want to do more! Perhaps the application to eagerness, impatience, worry and wisdom, is that in community, we can embrace life with more courage and joy than we could ever manage on our own. May we each seek and engage in a community of people that embolden us to think more freely and do more adventurous things than we might ever do on our own!