Monday, November 2, 2015

Monday Morning Memo: Pleasing Him

Today isn’t just any Monday.  Today is a ‘back to reality” Monday.  For the past week we have had the privilege of enjoying the beauty of Arizona, but today all that comes to an end and once our plane lands on the tarmac, we are back to reality.

I feel very blessed to have had a week of rest and relaxation.  No set schedule and no outside demands on my time.  Just a week with my husband without all the normal daily responsibilities.

It always amazes me how I can feel so relaxed after a vacation…but within a very short time of returning home the stress of life begins to consume me again.  In fact, there have been times when my stomach starts to knot up before I ever manage to walk through the front door of our home.  My mind begins to work overtime and I can feel overwhelmed, even before I face my day-to-day responsibilities.  When I think about this logically…I realize that my actions and thoughts are pretty ridiculous.

If I had to take a guess…I have a feeling that I’m not alone in acting this way.  It is so easy to let our daily tasks affect our demeanor, even before they happen.  Many of us spend way to much time putting a deposit in our “worry bank” before we even know if it will be needed.  I think this is a time when we often let the what-ifs of life take control, and instead of living with God’s peace in our life, we live with unnecessary turmoil.

I wonder if this often happens because we forget Who we are supposed to please in this world.  I think we spend way too much of our time trying to please those around us each day, instead of making our decisions based on what makes God happy.  I have a hard time believing that His will for us would ever include having our stomach tied in knots and our blood pressure sky high.  I wonder how often He looks at us and just shakes His head…wishing that we would begin to understand how much better His will is for our lives than the self-made will that we follow.

I’ve had people ask me how they can know what God’s will is for their life.  I believe that the best way to know is just to begin making sure that your will to please Him is greater than your will to please others.  None of us know what tomorrow will bring, let alone today.  But God does.  He knows our today and our tomorrows and nothing that comes our way will be a surprise to Him.  So as long as our hearts desire is to please Him, there will be no need to get stressed out and frazzled.

Today is a new day and the beginning of a new week.  Let’s face the moments ahead totally focused on pleasing God.  I’m guessing that the decisions we face will be easier to make when we keep our eyes on Him!

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 
Jeremiah 29:11

“Am I now trying to win the approval of people or of God? Or am I trying to please people?  If I were still trying to please people, I would not be the Messiah's servant.”

Galatians 1:10

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