WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PLEASE GOD?

When we believe God, we please God.

“To the man who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness.”

Ecclesiastes 2:26

I mentioned at the end of my last post that my life’s purpose is to please God. 

What exactly does that mean?  And how can I know if I am pleasing Him?  Those are questions I began asking myself some years ago, and I’ve been seeking the answer ever since.

It started out for me in the Gospels, where after John the Baptist had baptized Jesus, there was a voice from Heaven which said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him, I am well pleased.”  I figured God the Father would be pleased with His Son, but I longed to hear those same words—“…with you, Jean, I am well-pleased.”  What did I have to do to have that happen?  What would make God well-pleased with me?

I believed if I could find out what to do, God would be pleased with me.

My default mindset is I must do something for anything positive to occur in my life.  This comes partly from my personality, which tends to value action and productivity, but I think it mostly comes from my upbringing, which associated performance with approval.  If I failed to do something good, approval was withheld.  So, I presumed it was the same with God—if I did something good, He would be pleased.

But from what I already learned of God, performance for Him wasn’t as important as a relationship with Him.  Do you recall the story of Mary and Martha?  They were sisters and good friends of Jesus.  Jesus and His disciples stopped at their house amidst their travels.  There was lots to do to show proper hospitality to their visitors, and Martha occupied herself with all the preparations that had to be made.  But she was annoyed that her sister, Mary, was just sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to what He said.  She complained to Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?  Tell her to help me!”  “Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The first time I ever heard this story, I sided with Martha!

Honestly, Martha sounded just like me—or should I say, I sounded just like Martha.  I’m being brutally honest here and am not necessarily proud of this.  But to me, performance was what would please people, not sitting and listening while letting someone else do all the work.  In real life, there are times when doing instead of sitting is required, and the Bible speaks to that too (“A sluggard does not plow in season; so, at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.” Proverbs 20:4).  But when trying to please God, I had to develop a new mindset.  I had to learn that God was more pleased with my knowing Him than doing things for Him.

So, what then pleases God?

Here is some of what I’ve learned:

• It pleases God to have me ask for things in prayer.  It shows Him that I believe He is a good Father who will provide for me and give me what is good.
• It pleases God when I turn to Him when I am afraid.  It shows Him that I have faith He will help me and keep me safe.
• It pleases God when I express gratitude.  It shows Him that I acknowledge His provision and care.
• It pleases God when I praise Him.  It shows Him that I recognize His holiness and sovereignty.
• It pleases God when I forgive others.  He has forgiven me so much; He loves then when I choose to forgive.
• It pleases God when I trust Him.  This one is huge.  It shows Him that I believe that everything He has promised is true.
• It pleases God when I obey Him.  This is most important of all because it is the one way I can prove that I love Him.  This is something I can finally do.  I love Him, but it is just words until I put my love into action by obeying what He says in the Bible.  Jesus says in the Bible, “If you love me, you will obey what I command,” and “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” (John 14: 15 & 23)

If you have children or other loved ones you care deeply about, think about what pleases you regarding them.

I’m sure it pleases you to have them trust you, express gratitude, and obey the things you know are good for them to do.  God is our Heavenly Father who delights in us!  In your heart of hearts, I’m sure you want to please Him too.