For God's Pleasure

​Whose pleasure are you living for…. yours or God’s?
Good question that needs answered.
The other day I read some comments by Oswald Chambers in his classic devotional My Utmost For His Highest that rocked my spiritual boat, shaking and re-awakening me regarding the purpose of my personal relationship with the Lord. It was one of those “Oh my goodness” moments!
“Am I spontaneously kind to God as I used to be, or am I only expecting God to be kind to me? Am I full of the little things that cheer His heart over me, or am I whimpering because things are going hardly for me? There is no joy in the soul that has forgotten what God prizes. It is a wonderful thing to think that Jesus Christ has need of me.” Give Me to drink.” How much kindness have I shown Him this past week? Have I been kind to His reputation in my life?”
I believe Chambers is saying something like this: When is the last time you or I gave Jesus a drink, showed Him kindness, served, blessed, pleased and delighted Him because of our lifestyle?
Paul addresses the Christian’s priority to please God in I Corinthians 1:9-10.
 “For this reason also since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” I Corinthians 1:9-10
The Apostle of grace prayed for believers in Christ to walk, live their faith life, in such a way to please Jesus in everything they do. Christ followers are to bear fruit in every good work, to increase in knowledge of God and be filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding.
I believe that what Paul prays for you and me brings pleasure to God. Pleasing God brings Him glory!
God is pleased, takes pleasure in, is glorified when I worship and adore Him. When I praise Him. When I pray. When I serve, give and sacrifice. When I obey His Word. When I share His love with others. When I encourage and build up fellow Christians. When I stand up boldly before an unbelieving world, unashamed of His holy name.
This being so, what shook me up about Chamber’s statement? I do my best, with the Lord’s help to do the above Christian stuff. Granted, I am still learning, stretching and growing in grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. (II Peter 3:18).
Unfortunately, too often, confessing Christians. including Steve Roll, get caught up in things like personal image, reputation, whether we are noticed or not, popularity etc. Even our faith seems to somehow be about us and what Jesus does for us. Pretty shortsighted.
News bulletin: As Christians who follow Jesus Christ, life is not about us and what the Lord can do for us. It is about Jesus and how we can live for His pleasure and glory.
Let’s get gut level honest. So many of our petitions, prayers and requests of the Lord are flat out self- centered. About us, not Him. Do not get me wrong. The Lord invites us to ask, seek and knock concerning our needs. He joyfully moves heaven and earth to meet the sincere requests of His children.
But God is not an eternal blessing machine, a heavenly ATM, a cosmic errand boy or our spiritual guru that is at our beck and call twenty-four seven. Indeed, our Father in heaven is for us and works on our behalf according to the promises of His holy Word in the Bible.
But, and this is a BIG BUT, you and I are here for Him, not just Him for us.
How often do you or I think about how we can be a blessing to God today? How we can please Him? How may we bring joy, delight and pleasure to Him as His sons and daughters? How can we exalt His name and bring Him glory?
When, where and how does God get a little attention from us? An hour or two at church? Sporadic, hurried devotions? Empty prayer closet time? Too busy to serve and give in His name? Excuses and justification for living below God’s standards? OUCH!!!
Thinking about how little I think about pleasing Him in my life and bringing pleasure to my Lord and Savior stings. Hurts. Shames me. Motivates me to shift my focus from Steve to Jesus.
I am seriously asking myself is Steve living for Steve or is Steve living for Jesus? Am I living for my pleasure or His? My glory or God’s glory?
That is where I am at. It is a good place for making a course adjustment in my faith journey. I am refocusing on what God prizes. He prizes me as His son! He takes immense pleasure in me. I am treasured by my heavenly Father because of what Jesus did for me on the Cross.
Because my Father in heaven prizes me, I am going to work harder on prizing Him. Treasuring Him. Pleasing Him. Bringing pleasure to Him because He looks at me and says “There goes my son Steve. He makes my heart happy. I am so proud of him.”   
Why don’t you and I consider how to give Jesus a drink today? (See John 4:7-38).
 “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.”: I John 3:22
A Word For Your Week: Live your life for the pleasure and glory of God.