The Blind Spot of People Pleasing

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."  Galatians 1:10

On last night, I retired earlier than the norm to my favorite cozy, bamboo pillows and classic white sheets. It was something nurturing about swaddling myself in that crisp "white sheet" that calmed my sense of uneasiness. However, it was not enough for an uninterrupted night of sleep. My circadian rhythm was all over the place! I woke up several times, just to stare at the uninspiring, bedroom ceiling.

When the alarm sounded, my physical frame crashed harder into the grooves of the mattress. The migraine forced me to lay there awhile longer to convince my legs to comply. My spirit was heavy! I needed a supernatural encounter, not another church service. After getting makeup on two separate dresses, I hurried in a frenzy to make it out the door in a halfway decent amount of time. Although my feet moved swiftly down the stairs, my mind was still preoccupied under the covers. My energy was not pleasant. My spirit man weighed a ton! On the car ride, I tried to convince myself to turn around. I skipped breakfast, had a migraine, and was sleep deprived. My head screamed for my bed, but my heart longed for Jesus.

In worship service, I tried to be attentive and on one accord with the Holy Spirit, but I felt spiritually incapacitated. The more my head throbbed, the more reasons I found to cut out early. However, the message, "The Mouse Trap of Religion," on the overhead commanded my attention.

As the Pastor walked this "relationship vs religion" message out, I already knew it was God orchestrated, like "fresh manna" falling from the sky. Who knew? God had honored my grievances from the car ride. It wasn't church as usual! Revelation fell fresh. Conviction followed. My cage opened wider.

Even though, I've been making strides forward, I've been equally frustrated by my "blind spot!" There have been some opinions, judgments, assumptions and criticism (from outsiders) that I have outgrown. However, there were some wounded areas that I refused to uncover.

It's not always the noise from outside of the four walls that keeps you in bondage. Sometimes it's the "unhealed child" from within that yearns to please people inside the camp. On today, I realized that I have been like a mouse on a wheel, spinning but remaining still. I allowed the "blind spot" to collide head on with my freedom and dismantle my destiny.

Don't let your "blind spot" cause you to prematurely crash into man made barriers of "people pleasing!"

Who are you exalting: man or God?