"But without faith, it is impossible to please Him,
for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Hebrews 11:6
Over the centuries, people have done many things to try and please God. Some of them have been strange and bizarre. Actually, there is only one way to please God according to the Bible, and that way is called faith. The word faith may be defined as trust, confidence or reliance upon God. Many illustrations are given concerning faith. I like the simple illustration of sitting in a chair. When we sit down, we trust the chair with all our weight. We surrender ourselves to the chair with total reliance and confidence. So it is with God. He wants us to totally rely upon Him, to trust in Him with absolute confidence.
Chapter eleven of Hebrews gives a long list of people from the Old Testament who had faith in God. They pleased God with their faith. The way to God has not changed. No man can please God without faith. In the New Testament, the way is the same. It is by grace that we are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8).
Preceding grace brings conviction for our unbelief (John 16:8-11). That grace leads us to a change called repentance, it's a change of mind and direction in our lives (Romans 2:4). As we yield to the Spirit of grace, God grants us the grace or gift of faith to trust Him.
One of the major obstacles to pleasing God is self-righteousness. Man foolishly thinks that he can please God by his good works, but it's "not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:9). When we realize that we are helpless to do anything to earn God's favor, grace brings us the faith which alone pleases God. You see, it's by grace alone through faith alone that we please God.
God, grant us faith to please You and seek You.
