Pleasing God
Have you ever thought about whether or not God is pleased with your ways?
Verse of the Day
“When a person’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
Today’s Devotional
I don’t have many enemies that I’m aware of. But if I did, I would love the thought of God making peace within those strenuous relationships.
If there is one thing that I long for, it’s that my ways would please the Lord. But if I’m honest, I may only long to please the Lord when I stop long enough to think about it. When I’m busy with my day, I don’t know that I ever really think about whether or not what I’m doing, saying or thinking might be pleasing to God. I do know that God’s love for me never diminishes by what I do or don’t do, but my actions can bring God pleasure…or not.
I read something yesterday by Brennan Manning, author of The Ragamuffin Gospel, that challenged my thinking. “Worry is an insult to your Father.” Charles de Foucauld, founder of the Little Brothers of Jesus, says, “The only thing we owe absolutely to God is never to be afraid of anything.”
Have you ever thought or realized that worrying might be offensive to God? If I allow myself to process that, I realize that worrying assumes that I have some kind of control over a given situation. Or that my fretting might somehow change the outcome. But then I remember that MANY times in the Bible we are told not to worry or be anxious. We are told not to fear and not to let our hearts be troubled. Here are just a few of those verses:
I don’t expect you to read all of those verses today. But just look how long the list is. And that was from a quick search on openbible.info about worry and anxiety. So maybe, we can become more pleasing to God if we make a conscious effort to stop worrying and start praying every time our brains (or bodies) go into worry.
If I break it down even further, I know that the greatest command is that I love God and love others. I cannot do either of those things well if I am fearful, or worrying, or anxious. I cannot praise God with my life’s actions if I am consumed with worry. So today, I am going to attempt to please God by not worrying. When something feels scary or uncertain, I will try to remember to pray in that moment for God to remind me of his Sovereignty. I will turn over my worry and fear to God, so that I can more fully love him and love those he puts in my path. But doing those things, hopefully my ways will be pleasing to God and the result will be peace.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
If you have any enemies, do you pray for God’s peace in those relationships?
Do you feel like your ways are pleasing to God? If yes, then do you see and feel the evidence of God’s peace pouring over your life? If no, then how can you behave in a way that is more pleasing to God today?