Faith Pleases God

There was likely no one more surprised than my dad when I embarked on a career in mechanical insulation.  He remembered very well my aversion to the feeling of gyprock (drywall) dust as a youngster, and he likely figured I was simply not cut out for jobsites and able to endure the dust, noise, fumes and physical labour.  After over a decade in the trade there was probably no one more surprised than me when the LORD opened a door to being a youth pastor in full-time ministry.  Working in a trade was by no means wasted time, for it prepared me for the rigours of pastoral work in countless ways.  I did not begin a career in a trade to please my dad, but I switched into a new line of work with the desire to please God.

It's an interesting dynamic that people who are not particularly fond of their dads wish they could please them.  Dads can be hard--at times even impossible--to please.  I was blessed to be assured of my dad's love and support regardless of my job or career choice, yet not everyone experiences this level of acceptance with their father.  It is possible, however, to live in the way that pleases God--our heavenly Father.  If pleasing our earthly father is a pleasant thought, how much more is pleasing our Father in heaven!  Paul prayed in Colossians 1:9-12:  "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰ that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; ¹² giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light."

There is one key and indispensable element to pleasing God as it is written in Hebrews 11:6:  "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."  Those who do not believe in God's existence will not go to God, for they do not believe He has done anything or would be able to do anything.  Jesus is revealed as God made flesh, and He preached repentance from sin and the kingdom of God.  Those who heard the message of the Gospel, when mixed with faith, profited them when they responded to it in faith, submission and obedience:  they repented of their sin, believed Jesus is the Christ, and walked in obedience to Him.  It is God who provides wisdom, spiritual understanding and fruitfulness, and having been born again by faith in Jesus we are able to fully please Him by continuing to trust in Him and repent of sin.  The way we came to Jesus Christ by faith is the way we walk with Christ.  Sorrow for sin and repentance leads to acceptance and rejoicing by God's grace.

Some might imagine God's expectation of His children is perfection, that once we know the truth we will never transgress.  Those who have been children and raised children realise this is totally unrealistic.  Parents desire their children to be honest with them and admit when they have done wrong, to show genuine remorse for disobedience, and to take steps to do better moving forward.  Sometimes signs of remorse in people are merely for show, yet the LORD knows our hearts.  It is good for people to go to God in their sin, confessing their faults with contrite hearts--at our conversion and whenever we are convicted of our guilt going forward.  God will not crush and condemn the humble soul who in faith willingly comes to Him for forgiveness and pardon:  it is the one who asserts they are without sin who remain in sin.  It is amazing that having sinned we please God by repenting of our sin, and all heaven is moved to rejoice over one sinner who repents, one who was lost but returned to God in humble contrition.