Day 133 - Pleasing God

"Ultimately the goal is to be pleasing to God and if I'm pleasing people I've got the wrong direction."

Everyone likes to be liked...right? It isn't a bad thing to be respected, loved and appreciated. Unless that is your motivation. We ought to please God rather than man. 

In a day and age of political correctness and tolerance we have watered down our morals and let into the church and our lives things that shouldn't be there. If we were aiming to please man at all costs this would be okay. Our aim, however, is not to please man it is to please God. 

There are things we can easily see that are pleasing to God. Obedience is one of them. Jesus was pleasing to God and modeled it through obedience to the will of the Father. We can imitate Christ and know that we are pleasing to God. 

Thanksgiving is also pleasing to God. Think about it, we like it when we are thanked and appreciated for what we do. How much more God?! 

Love is pleasing to God. God is love and He loves us with an undying love. When we operate in God's love back to God and to other we are pleasing to Him. Let's make it our aim to please Him in all we do!

Why do you think obedience is pleasing to God? What else do you see in the Bible that is pleasing to God? 

Day 90 - The Unseen Character

"The last part of 2 Samuel 11:27 says “But the thing that David had done displeased The Lord.” For the whole narrative of David and Bathsheba we see all of the earthly characters of the story involved; David, Bathsheba, Uriah, Joab, servants. All the while we are down in to the drama unfolding. Lust, adultery, lies, betrayal, murder, and a cover up. It is like most Hollywood movies today. But here at the end there is one character we have forgotten as David did. The Lord is watching everything and now weighs in with His judgement. He is not pleased. David's actions are sinful, unjust, and displeasing. The man after God's own heart has gone and sought his own desires. God is not happy about it. Consider my soul, see the Lord's face looking on your life. His eyes watching your actions, His soul knowing the motives of your heart. Am I pleasing to Him? Do I make Him smile or frown? What is the outcome? What will spring up from the seed which I have sown? May my life be pleasing to Him!"

We know this story all too well. As familiar as we are with stories like David and Bathsheba God always has a fresh revelation for us if we will listen. Here in this story God reveals His heart. Sin is not pleasing to Him. 

We can learn positive lessons in negative situations. For instance; if sin is displeasing to the Lord then we can conclude obedience is pleasing. On the other hand we can learn what not to do when we know what to do. If faith is pleasing to God then we learn that anything outside of faith is sin (see Hebrews 11:6 & Romans 14:23b). 

With these lessons we must ask ourselves the tough questions. After reading this thought from last year I looked inside and asked the questions from the end of my journal entry again. I would encourage you to do the same. Take some time and do some heart searching and ask the tough question; am I pleasing to the Lord? 

If your answer is no then it is time to make some changes. Dive into what it means to obey God and have faith. Talk to your pastor or someone you respect as a mature believer who can help you to make the changes you need to. 

If the answer is yes then continue in those things that your are doing that are pleasing and watch out for the pitfalls David and others have fallen in to. 

May it be said of all of us that our lives are pleasing to Him! 

What are some other ways you see in the Bible that are pleasing to God? How can we avoid the pitfalls that will displease God?