Some people are hard to please. Have you noticed that? Some are intentionally hard to please, while others, perhaps, unintentionally. What makes certain folks hard to please? Some make impossible demands, some set expectations way too high, some do not make their expectations clearly known, some randomly change their expectations, some just don’t want to be pleased.
Aren’t you glad that God is NOT like that!? Isn’t it amazingly wonderful that God, in all of His perfection, is not impossible to please!? God doesn’t make impossible demands! God doesn’t set expectations that we cannot reach! God has made His expectations clearly known, and He has promised us that those expectations will not change!
What an amazing God! He wants us to please Him and He makes it very possible for us to do that! In fact, Paul recorded that God is so eager for us to please Him that He “works in” us “both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). He is ready, willing and active in helping us to do those things that please Him (cf. John 8:29). So, what can we do to please our God? How can we develop a reputation for being “pleasing to God” (Heb. 11:5)? Consider some verses that have the word “please,” “pleasing” or “pleasure” in them.
Having an obedient faith that diligently seeks Him is pleasing to the Lord (Heb. 11:6).
Keeping His commandments is pleasing to the Lord (1 John 3:22; 1 Thess. 4:1-2).
Being obedient to parents in all things is well pleasing to the Lord (Col. 3:20).
Being fruitful in our efforts to serve Him and bring others to Christ is pleasing to the Lord (Col. 1:10).
Speaking to others of the gospel of Jesus Christ is pleasing to the Lord (1 Thess. 2:4).
Making sacrifices by doing good and sharing with others is pleasing to the Lord (Heb. 13:16).
Giving sacrificially to the Lord’s work is well pleasing to the Lord (Phil. 4:18).
Vigorously refusing to be entangled in the affairs of this life is pleasing to the Lord (2 Tim. 2:4).
Remaining steadfast and not drawing back from our faith is pleasing to the Lord (Heb. 10:38).
“The Lord takes pleasure in His people” (Psa. 149:4). Therefore, like Jesus (John 8:29), we ought to “make it our aim…to be well pleasing to Him” (2 Cor. 5:9). That requires action on our part, but the Lord has told us exactly what to do, and He will help us to do His will! What an amazing God!