“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” Proverbs 29:25

Lord God, As I live out my day today I am tempted to make decisions and carry out actions that are not seeking you but seeking others. I am a people pleaser to the highest degree. If people are unhappy with me, then I am unhappy, stressed and anxious. Sometimes it even keeps me up at night. So, I do everything I can to make people happy. Sometimes I even avoid difficult conversations that truly need to be held out of love for them. I am often controlled by my desire to please people. Forgive me for this. While it is good for me to love people, my highest goal in life is not to have their approval or their pleasure, but to have yours! And by your grace, I already have it. I stand before you as a completely accepted and valued child of yours. You have proclaimed our highest pleasure with me calling me “son/daughter,” even telling the world that I am your child with whom you are well-pleased. Help me this day to be most concerned with doing what pleases you. Help me to live this day as if I was living for you alone. Amen.

Yes, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It leads me to trust him and find my safety there.