And since then I haven't been able to get that passage out of my brain. There are so many thoughts and feelings it stirs up in my soul. It has been a passage that has flashed in my mind time and time again. It's a passage I feel God uses to convict me when I start to give in to the temptations that the world tries to get us to accept things we know in our hearts are not right.
I am a hard core people pleaser. Or at least I was....It has always been a struggle for me to go against others. Debate is not my strong suit. I would rather live in harmony and have everyone get along. When I know someone is upset at me I hate it. I can't eat, can't sleep....I want a resolution. I want them to like me again. All through high school I was just like every kid that wanted to fit in so baldy and yet at the same time....I wanted to please my parents and the thought of them being disappointed in my actions was gut wrenching. It was a constant struggle in my heart. Fast forward to married life and while Trav and I have some knock out fights....I can't handle the fight for long. No matter who is right I always end the fight sooner than later because I can't stand the silence and the anger between us.....I say sorry far too much.....I over analyze what I say and how I say it. Which, if we are being honest, annoys the hubby probably far more than he would care to admit. Most of the time I walk away from a conversation replaying it over and over again in my mind. Did I say the right thing? Did I act the right way? It's an exhausting way to live.
The past few years however, God has been putting all those thoughts and feeling to the test it seems. You see, the deeper we seem to get in this walk with Christ, the deeper our beliefs grow. Our thoughts and opinions about this hurting world get stronger and stronger. And the stronger our relationship with Jesus gets, the further we seem to get from this world and the more people we seem to encounter that try to challenge our way of life. We have more people that dislike us because of what we believe. While Christianity and Christ are founded and wrapped up in love....the truth is also not always everybody's friend. Our culture, the way we are born is to feed every human desire we can. And when you meet Christ face to face, that way of living is completely challenged. Therefore, as Christians we wont' always please everyone. And ya know what? We aren't supposed to.....
The world will always accept what is sinful and against Christ. The world will always reject the truth. The world will never stop making Christians feel like they don't belong here. Because friend, here me in love when I say this: WE DON'T BELONG HERE. This tired old earth is not our home. It never will be. We will always feel out of place. We will always feel like the outcasts. We will never be accepted by everyone here. We will always feel like when everyone else is going one way, we are going the opposite. But there is also so much freedom in that. In Christ, we can be who we are called to be. There is no people pleasing. We don't have to please everyone. We don't have to try to fit in some mold when we don't fit. Because the truth is in Christ, we all belong. There are no outcasts, no rejects, no losers. So when we speak the truth and follow Christ....when we are proclaiming His word while the rest of the world seems to be slamming the door on it....we can have confidence. We don't need to over analyze. Doesn't give us the right to be rude or put others down. We still must always speak in love.....but friends...sometimes love hurts. If you truly love someone and care about them you will never....never stop proclaiming His truths.
This doesn't mean you will be friends with everyone all the time....you will upset people....and it will hurt. We've had experiences with that in our own families. And let me be the first to say that when you don't like conflict and you are a people pleaser....it goes against every fiber of your being. And yet if you are following Christ's commands you can lay it down at His feet and have Him help carry that burden. Because He will. Lord knows how much He upset people when Jesus walked this world. He went against it just like we are.
It's still a daily struggle for me sometimes. When God is speaking to my heart and calling me to say or do something....whether it be face to face or on social media....I still think, "But God, there are gonna be people that don't like that. I'm going to upset some people. What if someone says this or this...." And yet there's this simple truth: We will never please the entire world, there will be times where we offend or upset it so much that we get rejected. But if our heart and soul belong to Jesus....we can never get so far that He is out of reach. He will never reject us. His love is always there waiting for us to run to....
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