Slideshow image

From: The Message/Remix: Solo, An Uncommon Devotional Day 290

Free From Pleasing Others

Read
Carefully read Galatians 6:11-16.  Here is a link to that passage in an online bible:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ga.+6%3A11-16&version=MSG

Think
This passage is rebuking first-century Christians for believing that ceremonial Jewish acts like circumcision could alleviate all guilt before God.  Consider how you relate to this message.  Who are you interested in impressing?  How much energy do you expend figuring out ways to be more accepted by others?  Is your security rooted in others, or is it rooted in your total acceptance by God?

Do you ever imagine God taking sides – either with you against the world or with everyone else against you?  How would your life look if you lived to please only him?

Pray
Let your thoughts lead you into conversation with God.  Interact with him on what you’re thinking about, remembering that he loves and accepts you.  You might write things down as they come to mind, but don’t let your writing shrink your awareness so you forget God’s presence.  Confide in him why you do what you do, even if you know your reasons are selfish or foolish.

Live
Return to the question of how your life would look if you lived only to please him – “to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master.”  What one thing, even if tiny and internal, could you do to start living this way?  Maybe you begin by asking God to give you a whiff of the air that exists beyond the “stifling atmosphere of pleasing others.”