1 Thessalonians 2:4 “We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.”
The urge to please other human beings, to win their favor, to be accepted into their society, to be highly esteemed in their eyes – all of this is a danger and distraction from seeking to please God. I will never find true satisfaction, peace, or acceptance by angling for status and affirmation from other people. I may experience a fleeting period of gratification after a promotion, raise, award, or congratulations. But if that human-pleasing urge is what I’m constantly trying to satisfy, then I will always return to being disappointed and disillusioned. God’s ways are not like that. He knows my heart and tests it to reveal my motives. He does this so that I look to him for all my heart truly desires – that only he can satisfy.
Father, I want to please you today. As you test my heart and motives, refine my decisions and actions to serve your purposes. I am eager to further your aims today.
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