Mar 22, 2012
What God Did in My Heart Sunday Morning
People-pleaser
That’s me. My bent is to do what pleases people.
But God has called me to lead His people.
And leading people doesn’t always mean pleasing people.
Which means leaders who are also people-pleasers will often feel insecure.
Sunday morning
So there I was Sunday morning before our worship gathering — feeling insecure.
Actually, it was worse than insecure. I was fearful.
The elders and home group leaders of Mercy Hill have prayed and talked and believe we have been leading the church in God’s direction.
But for some reason Sunday morning I was wondering —
- do we really have God’s wisdom?
- what about people who might not be happy?
- maybe this direction is just OUR OWN idea.
- maybe we aren’t pursuing God’s direction at all?
Fear and faith
Fear means there’s something wrong with my faith — I’m not trusting all that God promises to be to me in Christ Jesus (Isa 12:2; Mark 4:40; Heb 11:27).
In this case, I was not trusting God’s promise to guide us, direct us, and correct us (Psa 25:8; James 1:5).
So what can I do?
When it comes to understanding God’s leading, there are three possibilities —
- I am sinfully missing God’s leading. (I don’t want God’s leading.)
- I am mistakenly missing God’s leading. (I want God’s leading — but misunderstand it.)
- I am accurately understanding God’s leading. (I want it and rightly understand it.)
So Sunday morning I prayed something I pray almost daily —
Convict me of sin. Correct my mistakes. Confirm where I am right.
CONVICT ME — of my sin.
This is a prayer God will always answer, if we pray it from the heart (Psa 139:23-24; John 16:8-10). So I prayed —
“Father, I come to You in Jesus’ name. I long to know Your will for this church.
“But pride and ambition and stubbornness can blind me.
“So please — please — show me any sin that’s in the way.
“And then give me grace to repent so I can clearly see Your will.”
CORRECT ME — concerning my mistakes.
God promises to give all the wisdom we need (James 1:5), including the wisdom to know when we are mistaken. So I prayed —
“Father, I know that I might be wrong — not because of sin, but because of stupidity.
“If so — please show me.
“I don’t want to stand before You in heaven and have You say — “What were you thinking?”
“I’d rather hear that now — so I can make changes now.
“So please — please — correct me where I am making mistakes.”
CONFIRM ME — where I am right.
When we are unsure of God’s leading, and need more confirmation, God will give it.
He did this for Gideon (Judges 6:36ff). He did this for David (1Sam 23:1ff). He will do it for me. So I prayed —
“Father, I am fearful and doubting. I’m wondering if we are on track with Your will.
“All I want is Your will — to know I am obeying You — to know You are pleased.
“So I plead with You to give me confirmation right now — or conviction or correction — whatever I need.
“Don’t pass me by. Don’t leave me without assurance.
“Help me.”
What happened
I usually don’t receive answers this quickly or powerfully.
But Sunday morning as I prayed I suddenly felt God pouring His love and favor upon me.
He was there — assuring, encouraging, affirming.
He was not saying I am sinless — that I make no mistakes — that the elders and home group leaders are leading perfectly.
But He was confirming that we are in His will — following His lead.
My fear and insecurity were gone. My heart was at peace. I was ready to lead.
Take-away
Don’t live in fear. Press in to the Lord Jesus with earnest and honest prayer.
He will meet you — strengthen you — help you.
He promises (Psa 34:4).
Comments? Feedback? Thoughts?
I’d love to hear them — feel free to leave a reply below.
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Here’s some related posts that might be helpful —
- A surprising outpouring of God’s love.
- Why keep praying when we’re feeling dull?
- Another Sunday morning battle.
(Picture is by calsidyrose on stockxchng.)
Steve, I am so thankful that you shared this. I can relate to the fear of not knowing if I am following God’s direction. This has been something that I have been dealing with for the past few weeks. Although I have been having my devotions… my heart just had doubt about some things that were going on in my life… and this lead to fear in my heart. After reading your post I was reminded that I can be “honest” with God about these fears. Thank you for also reminding me that if I remain in my fear…then that is sin. Jesus, Please forgive me for the doubts that I had. I praise you Holy Spirit for your confirmation that I am indeed heading in the right direction. Help me, Lord, to see any sin that is preventing me from following you.
Hi Ron,
Great to hear from you, as always. And thanks for sharing your thoughts on this same topic. Isn’t it easy to let doubts and fears creep in and not take them to the Father?
But how encouraging that we can take them to Him and He will always meet us, help us, love us, give us exactly what we need.
Thanks for sharing your heart, brother. Very encouraging.
Steve
Just what I needed this morning – thank you! 🙂
So glad to hear it — what a glorious, heart-changing Savior!
Steve,
This is a great blog. I searched out “people pleasing” in your blogs for myself and a friend, and am so glad I stumbled across this. I prayed the prayers you wrote out verbatim and already feel more at peace. Imagine hearing God say, “What were you thinking?” I’d rather be corrected now!
It’s always a joy to hear from you, Erin. Thanks for your encouraging words! I am deeply thankful to the Father that you found this helpful.
Onward!
Steve Fuller