Today’s devotion is based on Week 2 of “Resolve”: Live Your Baptism Identity! (WATCH HERE)
Are you a pleaser?
Most people don’t want conflict or people upset at them. One approach is simply to avoid situations that need constructive confrontation and hope the issue goes away. Another approach is to spend extraordinary effort to do what it takes to ensure the person who potentially could get upset is pleased with you. However, the challenge with this approach, is the “standard” is rarely identified and even less often achieved. The pleaser will continue to put self aside for the sake of doing things that people want, hoping they can keep that person happy and not upset at them.
This is a challenging way to live as life becomes lived in fear of someone else’s response and really letting people that have really little or no concern for you control your emotions and your actions…in a elusive hope they won’t get mad at you.
Unfortunately many of the people we spend our lives trying to please, really have little or no interest in your wellbeing, we just want their approval.
But some of those people can be more important in your life and you want their approval. Every child desires the approval of their parents. Most students want the approval of their teacher. A majority of employees want the approval of their boss.
When one of these people say, “I am very pleased with you,” it is a compliment that fills your soul and motivates you toward the next day.
So are these the people that matter most in your life? Perhaps.
But inside each one of us, we want God’s approval. Ask people about the end of their life situation and hear them say things like, “I think God will be happy with the way I led my life.” Others will say, “I’ve done more good than bad, so I’ve lived a pretty good life.”
Yet, the irony of these individuals is there is little or no certainty in claiming their performance as the reason that God would be pleased with them.
Why is that? Because we are all sinful and fall short of the glory of God. Period. We can’t earn our way into God’s good pleasure and avoid an eternal conflict with him because of our sin.
The solution? Again we are pointed to Jesus’ baptism where the Father said this: And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son,whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:23)
There was no question for Jesus or those around. God was well-pleased with his Son. There was nothing Jesus had to worry about as he went about his mission as the Messiah to bring salvation to all people. The Father was well-pleased with him. He was pleased that his Son was on mission to live a life that perfectly fulfilled the law. He was pleased that his Son was willing to carry the sins of the world to the cross. He was pleased that his Son would be at the cross hairs of conflict over sin so the people God so loved would experience forgiveness and grace.
Which they do in baptism when God the Father says of us because we are connected to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, “This is my child. With him/her I am well pleased.
We may have conflict in life with people around us that we need to handle with love and grace, but we can be sure of one thing, because of Jesus, our Father in heaven is well-pleased with you because you are covered in the perfection Jesus gave you!
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Apply: How does it feel to know that God is well-pleased with you because of Jesus?
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for applying the perfection of Jesus to our account so that we might be a pleasure to you. AMEN.