A God-pleasing Life

The Lord’s insight. No person before us has lived a perfect life, but many persons before us have lived God- pleasing lives.

Matthew 3:17: “This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 6:31-32: “Therefore do not worry, saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear?  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

There are many things about life and God that just do not make any sense to me.  I want to live right and be obedient to the Lord but I’m sinful. There always seems to be something in me that makes me stumble and do something I know does not please the Lord.

I don’t want to use being sinful as an excuse for my actions, but I have learned, if I don’t understand where my actions come from or what causes them, I am bound to repeat them, especially the things I don’t want to repeat. I am sure I speak to many of us when I say this; we are trapped by our own ways.

God wants us to do good for sure, even if we are not as good as we should be. And even though all the things we do will never be pleasing to the Lord, we know we can always give more of ourselves to live a God-pleasing life.  He wants us to do right before Him and others.  But just as much, He wants us to live like we are in bondage to His Word more than to our sin. This is the type of life that is pleasing to Him.

In Matthew 6:31-32, Jesus speaks to the Jews.  He tells them not to worry about basic stuff and basic needs. He goes on to tell them that the Gentiles worry about the same things. He encourages them to do what the Gentiles could not do yet because the Word came first to the Jew.

He told the Jews they should seek first the Kingdon of God.  When they did this, He assured them God would supply all their basic needs. A life that seeks after the things of God first is a God-pleasing life.  The gentiles did not know the Lord so they could not seek after Him in this way at this time.

The Gentiles chased after their basic needs apart from Jesus. They looked to man and to their own efforts for the things they needed and desired. We have the same needs as do the gentiles but a God-pleasing life will not live and pursue those needs like the gentiles.

Jesus told the Jews then and you and I now, don’t be like the gentiles because we know Him.

Do good for it is better than doing anything else.  But for the believer, we should do our good because it comes in a life that is chasing after God for all the good He has for us. This is God-pleasing.

Pray a lot for it is better than to not praying at all.  But for the believer, we should pray because we live more than because we want to keep living.  This is God-pleasing.

Work with your hands and with your talents.  But work to store up and use your God given treasures more than to acquire earthly treasures. The best of you is the most valuable treasure you have. Lay up your best in the storehouse of heaven.  This is God-pleasing.

Man can never give you what God alone wants to give you.  Man can never give you anything of greater value than what God can give you.  The gentiles sought what man had. The believer seeks what God has. Gentile living is carnal living.  God-pleasing living is believing living.

God knows you have need for food, water and shelter. But the God-pleasing man does not live by bread alone but by the Word of God.  It is through the Word our bread is provided. The gentiles took care to protect themselves from others. But the man living a God-pleasing life knows that his protection comes through God.

A God-pleasing life is one that seeks everything it needs through a life that spends every moment chasing after God. It is in the chase for God that Jesus provides us with the things we need in this life. If it is a position you want, a status you seek, a relationship you desire, or even a child you long to have, you will find these things more easily when you chase after the Lord for the things He has reserved for you.

A God-pleasing life is a life in which God will be well pleased.