Living to Please God
Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you.
1 Thessalonians 4:1
If our life is pleasing to God, then we will certainly be blessed. But what is pleasing to God? And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6). If we have faith it must be pleasing to God, but our faith is a continual growing process, so what pleases God from the first day of our Christian walk, and what pleases God as we mature in Christ?
God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God (Psalm 53:2). The Lord’s desire is for us to know him, to have a heart that seeks him and desires to understand his ways and his love. We are being molded to conform to the likeness of Jesus and we do this by living a Jesus lived, which helps us to identify with Jesus and be drawn closer to him. We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. (1 John 2:3). The more we keep his commands, the closer we are to him and the more we know him. This pleases God, that we know him through his Son.
We are created in the image of God and the greatest thing in our life is know and be close to the Lord. The greatest and most fulfilling thing for all mankind is to be in the presence of the Father and Son; this is heaven. The more we desire to know the Lord in this life, the more eternally focused we are, both for ourselves and for others. When our hearts desire to be with the Father and the Son for eternity it pleases God more than we can imagine.
How is our life changed if we are consciously aware of living each day pleasing to God? We will be closer to the Lord if we are consciously seeking to please to him. As we walk in obedience to his will we come to know him, because our life is modeled after Jesus’ life, bringing the truth to people. This draws us closer to the Lord, seeking his love and wisdom, and the strength to endure. The more Christ-like we become the more pleasing we are to God. If our thoughts are on pleasing the Lord, then we are primed and ready to his will. We overcome sinful habits because sin is certainly not pleasing to God. We are more aware of Satan’s temptations and we are quick to capture every thought to the obedience to Christ. This greatly pleases the Lord when we run to him for his power to overcome our sinful thoughts. Seeking to pleasing the Lord turns us into powerful spiritual warriors.
The more we seek to be pleasing to the Lord, the more our hearts desire to be pleasing to him, and this increases our courage by overcoming the fear Satan uses to stop us from obeying. As we seek to please God, the fear from Satan has no power over us because we fully trust the Lord and we know he is always with us. Victory over Satan is victory over fear.
Today be mentally aware to do everything pleasing to God Over time we will spiritually grow, and our desire to please God will become more natural and desirable. Start training yourself to be mindful of pleasing God.
Prayer: Lord, fill my heart with the desire to please you today. Guide my heart to always desire to please you with my thoughts, words, and actions. In Jesus name, Amen