March 31, 2012: The Joy Of Pleasing God

“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6, NLT)

Anyone who has a genuine relationship with God desires to please Him. Pleasing God is the response of the human heart that has been saved from sin and wrath. Is it your desire to please Him? If it is, then you are right where God loves you to be.

Apart from faith, no one can be pleasing to God. Hebrews 11 is all about champions of the faith found in scripture. These champions of the faith are celebrated because of their faith. Where you find faith in the scriptures, you also find God celebrating. When Jesus encountered the Roman centurion in Matthew 8:10, His response to the man’s faith was, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” It moved the heart of the Son of God! And it caused God to celebrate him.

If faith makes it possible to please God, then I want to be a person of faith. I want to be one who is growing in faith, walking in faith, and exuding faith! Never in scripture do you get the impression that those who live by faith are being coerced into pleasing God. They simply were taking God at His Word.

Therein lies the challenge: Are you one who will take God at His Word and become a person of faith, a vessel pleasing to God?