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September 18, 2009

Audience of One

Written by Boyd Bailey

Audience of One… Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the Lord that man gets justice.” Proverbs 29:26

For what audiences do you find yourself performing? Is it an athletic audience assembled to cheer you on with passionate pleas? Or are you on the stage at work or home doing your best to remember your role and not forget to speak your lines of encouragement and correction? Wherever you serve on life’s stage, there is the pressure to perform. You are saved by grace, but we feel accepted by performance. But many audiences bring little peace.

When driven by the fear of man, the pressure to perform steals your peace of mind. “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe” (Proverbs 29:25). In performance based relationships you can never do enough to please a perfectionist. You are caught in the crazy cycle of striving to please someone who can’t be pleased. After exhausting yourself to meet their expectations you have to stop to honestly evaluate the outcome.

Who do I really want to please? Who is my audience? Almighty God is your audience of one. You look above the heads of mighty men on earth and focus on the face of Jesus in heaven. Is He smiling? Is He applauding? Is He happy? How freeing and refreshing to know you ultimately answer to your Creator, your Savior and the Lover of your soul. People are the Lord’s pawns to carry out His purposes. You may plea before authorities and receive an apathetic response, but when you pray before Jesus He is just and He cares.

Therefore, seek the favor of your Savior. Set eternal expectations and you will not be disappointed. Regardless of where you live, work or play, He is the one and only audience for which it matters how you perform. “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10). Am I enamored only by eternal applause? Do I trust the Lord with His right results?

Related Readings: 2 Kings 6:27; Psalm 16:7-21; Matthew 24:25; 1 Peter 1:17

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