Pleases – Living to Delight God

To please God is the highest calling and the surest path to a life of purpose, blessing, and eternal significance. Discovering what brings Him delight, and then choosing to walk in it, transforms every dimension of our daily existence.

Discovering What Pleases the Lord

Our goal in life should be to bring God pleasure; therefore, "Find out what pleases the Lord" (Eph 5:10,17). It is to our benefit to discover what He desires and then do as He instructs. God is more pleased with obedience than with confessing and attempting to make amends after sinning (1 Sam 15:22). Paul emphasised this priority when he wrote, "We are not trying to please men but God…We instructed you how to live in order to please God" (1 Thes 2:4, 4:1).

Find out what pleases the Lord – Ephesians 5:10

If we are 'men-pleasers' it means we risk compromise on divine standards, succumb to peer pressure, and are not living for Christ as we should, for "Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God" (Rom 8:8). Therefore, logic concludes: those not controlled by the sinful nature do please God.

Walking as Jesus Walked

We are to walk [live] as Jesus walked – in complete reliance on the Father, "I always do what pleases Him" (Jn 8:29). "To the man who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to [ultimately] hand it over to the one who pleases God" (Eccl 2:26). Those who choose what is pleasing and acceptable to Him, by making Him the focus and priority of their lives, will be blessed eternally, for He is indebted to no-one (1 Sam 2:30; Isa 56:4-7). Paul prayed asking God to fill his readers with the knowledge of His will so that they would live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way (Col 1:9-12). Faith is required to please God, as is doing good and sharing with others (Heb 11:6, 13:16).

I always do what pleases Him – John 8:29

"The prayer of the upright person pleases Him" particularly when requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving are made for everyone (Prov 15:8; 1 Tim 2:1-4). Prayer is dependence on Him, acknowledging that we are powerless without His enablement and, as with human interactions, saying 'please' is a polite addition.

Living as God-Honouring People

People often think that making large sacrifices will please God or at least recompense for wrongdoing, but that is not the case. The Lord requires us to 'act justly, to love mercy and walk humbly with Him', being 'living sacrifices' because of the inner change He has made in our lives as we are "new creations" with the old sinful nature replaced with the new – it is our responsibility to outwork this (Mic 6:6-8; Rom 12:1-2; 2 Cor 5:17). Is my lifestyle and whole manner of living consistently pleasing to the Lord?

If you want to be favoured by God – do what pleases Him

"The ways of the Lord are right, the righteous walk in them" (Hos 14:9). David said, "You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil" (Ps 5:4). "Who may live [in your presence]? The person whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous" (Ps 15:1-2). God is holy and can't associate with sin; this is why there will be no sinners in heaven – only those who have been cleansed by the blood of Christ. We not only need purging from sin at salvation, but regular cleansing from the sin that easily entangles us in daily life (Heb 12:1). It is our responsibility, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to live holy, God-honouring and God-pleasing lives.

"Children, obey your parents in all things, for this pleases the Lord" (Col 3:20). As we are all children of our heavenly Father, we should always obey Him just as God declared about Jesus, "This is my Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased" (Mt 3:17). "We receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him" (1 Jn 3:22). Enoch is commended as one who pleased God (Heb 11:5). Can this be said of me?

Reflection and Application:

Am I actively seeking to discover what pleases the Lord, or am I living to please myself or others?
In what areas of my life am I compromising on God's standards in order to gain human approval?
How consistently does my daily prayer life reflect total dependence on God, as one who desires to please Him?
Is my lifestyle – my choices, conduct and priorities – genuinely honouring and pleasing to God?