“No Pressure”- Danny Gokey
I have been a people-pleaser my entire life. I will do whatever anyone wants of me, short of sin, to make sure I stay in their good graces. Even when people say good things about me, I have a hard time believing them. I see the things that I didn't do and place pressure on myself to be perfect.
This is why Danny Gokey’s song “No Pressure" speaks to me and my heart. I need the constant reminder that there’s no pressure to be someone other than myself--whom God loves passionately. I have many identities: Father. Husband. Son. However, the most important identity I have is being a child of God. I have a hard time resting in that identity. I want the approval of man--or even God--based on the things I do.
In John 12, we find an interesting commentary on Jewish leaders at the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth. John 12:42-43 says: “Yet even at the same time, many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.”
I am slowly becoming like the Jewish rulers of old. I have been so caught up in the praise of man that I have not cared for the approval of God. God wants to remind me that His Son Jesus came and died on the cross so that I may be free from living for the approval of men and find freedom in His name. I am choosing today to not be a people-pleaser. I want only to please God and live for Him and His pleasure. I want what God says of me to matter more than anything else.
If you are struggling with being a people-pleaser, just like me, be still with me for a moment.
God is calling out to you and me: “ “My child, see that you are dearly loved. There is no pressure to earn my grace, you can rest in your identity as my child. You can cease striving and let go of the pressure you are putting on yourself. As you let go of that pressure, you can rest in the work my Son did for you when he carried your sins, struggles, and heartaches to the cross. You will find that My work in you has just begun when You consider it done.”
Prayer:
God, we realize we have put pressure on ourselves as we have lived for the approval of men. We want the motivation of our hearts to be after You alone and live out of our identities as Your beloved children. We can decide today to let off the pressure we have placed on ourselves. We choose to live in Your freedom and embrace what You say of us. We are your children and have a heavenly inheritance in You. We are complete in You and have been redeemed and forgiven of our sins. We have been bought with a price, and we belong to You. We love You,Lord and we choose today to live for Your pleasure. In Your magnificent name, we pray. Amen.
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