Why do we fear people? They can hurt us. We do not realize we give them the power to. We want to please them to avoid it. When I focus on pleasing people, pride tells me I can control perception. Control creates the chaos of perfection and I compromise my morals, values, and principles—my faith. When I focus on God, I discover he is already pleased with me in Christ Jesus.

Uncertainty breeds fear. People are unpredictable. Many of us are walking around as wounded vessels not realizing our own hurt or how we injure others with it. I would rather entertain my own assumptions and accusations from taking something personally than risk backlash for asking questions to help me better understand someone else.

Pride is a pervasive spirit. Its deception is to convince us that by looking to please another, we are practicing humility. In reality we are only protecting ourselves. We work diligently for people to believe we are good, and their happiness is our measure. Our attempts to control outward perception create an inward striving of perfection. We feel it necessary to be seen as good, while inside we are scrambling in chaos to keep up the facade. We exhaust ourselves by letting others live rent-free in precious headspace, fueling the fear of being found out. We end up compromising our beliefs to accommodate their thoughts, opinions, desires, and actions in the hopes of looking good and appearing nice, yet we end up feeling like we have sold our soul. People pleasing is selfish. We seem agreeable and often end up resentful.

Pride and control are cleverly laid traps shackling us to fear. When my toe triggers these traps, my foundation weakens and I stumble in the cracks. I wobble around seeking something steady, something safe, as the ground crumbles beneath my feet and I fall into a pit.

I wonder if, by fearing God instead of people, we could evict the squatters in our head and retain our souls. Humility, submission, and sacrifice are expressions of Godly fear. Fearing God fuels our faith. Faith is the antidote to fearing man.

In humility we acknowledge we are unable to please God because of our sinful nature. We humbly recognize and receive Jesus’ intervention, satisfying God’s wrath for our sin. We no longer seek approval from others nor fear their reprisal for not doing so. When we realize our equality as humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus, the lies of inferiority and inadequacy that initiate pride are silenced. We tune our ears into the truth. All mankind needs a savior, no one better nor more or less deserving. Jesus came to save us from ourselves as well as one another.

Healthy submission accepts God’s sovereign control over all things, especially circumstances and people. In awe, reverence, and humility we release our grip on the chaos to tightly grasp his mighty right hand. With our hands off, the Potter goes to work forming, filling, removing, and refining. God doesn’t need our help, however he may use us to help others.

Standing firm in faith, we submit to God’s leading, trusting the outcome to his perfect will. When we fear others and adjust our behavior to accommodate their whims, control deceives us into believing we are submitting. The truth is we are being subservient.

We joyfully sacrifice for others, serving with our God-given talents, gifts, and energy in accordance with the Holy Spirit’s guidance. In humility and submission to God, we move forward in faith, unconcerned with what we give up, attentive to what he desires to give out. Our thoughts do not drift to whether the recipient is deserving. We leave that judgment rightly to God, secure in the knowledge of God’s love, Jesus’ sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit empowering our work through a humble, submitted, and sacrificial heart.

It is easy to get comfortable in fear. Complacency convinces us everything is fine, gives us an excuse, and absolves us of responsibility. Living in faith can be quite uncomfortable. Accountability and vulnerability in relationships not accustomed to these qualities cause uncertainty to raise its ugly head, but it never goes higher than the Cross. Faith leads us to the safe space at Jesus’ feet where we dump our accusations and assumptions. He renews our minds with truth which trickles into our hearts and flows from our hands. Faith allows us to be involved with the things of God. We seek first his kingdom and trust he provides all our needs. We desire his pleasure and discover he is already well-pleased.

We are all created by God in his image, making us his children; God loves every one of his children. In Isaiah (42:1) we learn God chose his servant, takes pleasure in him, and gives his servant his spirit, who declares justice to the Gentiles. God’s servant is Jesus. We become God’s people when we accept Jesus as our savior, dying to the selfishness of sin and receiving new life in him through grace and forgiveness. Psalm 149:4 tells us, “For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.” God’s people, while not infallible, know him, love him, and trust him and his word. “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” (Ez 18:32) God does not want any of his children ensnared by anything but his word. It brings him great sorrow when we choose the death of sin. He takes great pleasure in those who turn to him, receiving eternal, abundant life.

I am tired of being scared. I am weary from the exhaustion of worrying about what everyone else thinks, says, or does, and what I need to do about it. I am spent from falling in and climbing out of devil-dug pits. I rejoice in my salvation, praising my savior for being my safety net. I do not have to fearfully test each step. I can leap fearlessly in faith, knowing if I fall Jesus helps me bounce right back