1 Thessalonians 2:4
“but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.”
We begin to be a God pleaser when we accept Christ. Isaiah 53:6 speaks of where we all came from: “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.” When we become a God pleaser, we begin to go His way.
We all come to Christ for our own reasons. Usually something is going wrong. The reasons are myriad. Some are trying to self soothe with substances, others do the same through dependent relationships. There may be a problem that is difficult to cope with. We learn that God can help.
Many movies have the person coming to God in desperation. That person is usually making a vow to serve God, if He will… God does answer prayer. However, it isn’t always in the manner we would choose. That’s the first lesson in being a God pleaser; are we willing to accept His way that’s different than ours?
We often do, as our life is a mess. That is yielding to Christ’s lordship. Paul says in Romans 10:9 is, “that if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Lord is a misunderstood word in our culture. To us it has a religious connotation or one that is mideivil. It basically means that we submit our will to Christ. He becomes our manager.
When we become a “God Pleaser”, it’s rarely with altruistic motives. It’s similar to loving Christ. Jesus said the if one loves Him, there will be obedience. When we think of love, we think of genuiness of heart with a noble story. Obedience usually doesn’t come to mind. That sound more oppressive. That’s good news, as our motives and hearts usually aren’t full of pure motives. So, our pleasing God, is usually because pleasing ourselves has been disastrous. He understands.
Lord, help us to be God pleasers. We are to some degree, but help us to be more so.