"Please, God" or "Please God"

My tendency of temperament is toward being a "people pleaser." I love to sense that my presence in the lives of others is positive, helpful, constructive and appreciated. The way I measure this too often is through paying attention to whether or not I'm being petted, stroked and told what a good boy I am!

I was deeply moved by a personal story shared by Dr. Len Sweet where he was falsely accused with some pretty nasty accusations. The way he re-focused and gathered himself at that time was by facing the question, "who am I going to please?"

I'm finding much of my prayer life at present is dedicated to getting rid of that comma in "Please, God." When that comma is removed and my perspective and intention becomes "Please God" then my attitude in prayer changes from "What can you do for me?" to "How can your beautiful, good purposes be fulfilled in my life?"

As followers of Christ we do well to remember that even Jesus did not live to please himself or other humans. The governing goal of his life was this: "I have come to do your will, O God" (Hebrews 10:7). He said and lived this truth: "I seek not to please myself but him who sent me" (John 5:30).

Why do we put the comma in "Please God?" It could be because:

• We don't fully trust God.
• We don't really believe Jesus when he says: "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).
• We struggle to receive the promise that God "richly furnishes us everything to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6:17).

Jonathan Edwards suggested that God doesn't have a giving problem, we have a receiving problem. He said, "the pleasures of God are an infinite ocean."

I'm sure I'll continue to be energized by positive responses to my presence in the lives of people. But my greatest desire is to be a God pleaser, not a people pleaser. The difference is gigantic! When our desire is to please God, we will be more than able to make it safely through the difficult storms of life. When our desire is primarily to please and be approved of by people we can count on betrayal, loneliness, mistrust, disappointment and relational failure. As someone said, "Wait for people's approval, and you'll wait forever."

The sign on a secretary's desk reads: "I can please only one person a day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either!"

You and I can, by faith, hear God's voice as Jesus heard it at his baptism in the Jordan saying: "You are my beloved son/daughter. You bring me great pleasure" (see Mark 1:11).

Thanks for the joy of journeying to God's heart together!

With blessings and love,

Pastor Duff Gorle