kick people-pleasing to the curb today

What does it look like to live life for God, and not for the approval of other people? To some, it might look easy. But for the majority, it’s a serious battle. The reality of it is, it’s a constant surrender of laying down the flesh and walking out in your God-given identity, so you can please the One that really matters.

I want to be open and honest -  I’ve always struggled with the lingering feeling of not being “cool” and/or good enough. I’ve always struggled with people-pleasing, and in the past, I would strive in certain areas so I could be recognized. I believed the lie that anything and everything I did was never enough. It was honestly exhausting, and it usually left me feeling completely empty while also searching for my own significance at the same time.

What I realized was this: each and every day my focus was more-so on winning people over and finding my value in what other people thought of me. I would let comparison steal my joy, and I had lost sight of my own lane and path that God had created just for me! In short, I was missing out on the larger picture.

God has an ordained and precious path for you- your journey will look different than the person sitting next to you. But it’s okay. If you focus on pleasing God and start to make decisions based on who HE says you are, your life will not only be different, but it will be vastly transformed.

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I believe this is ultimately a perspective shift. Everyone wants to be fully known and fully accepted. We were designed that way, wired for community, and created to be completely cherished and adored. While we were created for intimacy, we most often look for intimacy in areas that aren’t necessarily beneficial for our own sake. It’s not only not satisfying, but it’s not satisfying to God. He longs for our whole heart, and He is jealous for our full attention.

It’s hard to give our full attention to God, when we are constantly worried about what other people are thinking, and how we can win them over. I believe it really comes down to knowing WHO we are in Christ, what HE has created us for, and who HE has created us to be. We were created for our identity to be rooted in Him alone.

Not everyone is going to necessarily like you, honestly, it’s just not even possible. And even if they did, is that really what you should be rooting your identity in? If your happiness is found in how many people you are winning over, you’re never going to be fully satisfied.

I want to encourage you today to link arms with the One who really matters. Link arms with the God that has purpose for you. When we choose to fix our eyes on Him alone (Hebrews 12:2), His purpose and His plan for our lives will not only prevail, but it will also bring so much joy and so much contentment. Through this fixing of our eyes, we are able to walk out on the path He has called us to without worry, jealousy, or comparison to those around us.

Our journey is our own, let’s learn to embrace a life of letting go and letting God. He truly wants the best for us!

Ana Bohr

Ana Bohr currently resides in Orange County, California. She is chasing her dreams as a freelance writer and volunteers at Propel weekly. She is the founder of Tiny Rooted Words, has a huge heart to end sexual exploitation, and be a voice of purity in this generation. You can follow her Instagram here.