A LIFE THAT PLEASES GOD

R. Oye Taiwo

John 8:29

And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.      

When Jesus was on earth, He was careful to live a life that pleased the Father. He was mindful of His duty to live for His heavenly Father. He declared that He had no desire to do what was pleasing to himself, but only what was pleasing to the Father who sent him (John 5:30).

Well, didn’t Jesus have every excuse to please Himself? Was He not the Son of the Most High? Had He not been with the Father from the beginning of the world… nay, from eternity? Was He not God in the flesh? (John 1:1-4)

Yet Jesus was only concerned with pleasing the Father. Since we are enjoined to follow His steps, we too must make pleasing God our goal (1 Peter 2:21).

A child of God must make it his duty to live a life that pleases God. His goal must be to please his Creator.

A man’s life is meaningless, ill-spent and of no value if it does not please God, since his eternal fate depends on God’s decision.

2 Timothy 2: 3-4

3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

Christians are soldiers of Christ. God is our Commander-in-Chief. The foremost desire of a good soldier is to please his Commander in Chief. A good soldier does his best to please his commander because he knows what is at stake if he fails to – his progress, career, even life.  

As good soldiers of Christ, Christians must desire and do all in their power to please their Commander-in-Chief.

God answers our prayer when we do what pleases Him. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 1John 3:22

David pleased God (Acts 13:22). God answered his prayers (Psalm 18:6). King Saul displeased God (1 Sam. 15:22-23). God refused to answer his prayer (1 Sam. 28:15-18).

Many people wonder why God is not answering their prayers. A humble examination of their lives before God would reveal to them the reasons.

I don’t say that every time you fail to receive an answer to your prayer you should begin to accuse yourself of not living a life that pleases God. Lack of faith may be a reason for failure to receive answer to prayer. Failure to pray the way you should may be another reason.

If, however, you are not living a life that God finds pleasing to Him, you are tying up the Hands that releases answers to your prayers.

God protects those who please Him from harm and evil.  Daniel attributed his divine protection from the voracious lions to the fact that he was found innocent before God, that his life was pleasing to God (Daniel 6:19-22). An angel confirmed this fact that Daniel’s life pleased God in Daniel 10:11.

Six hundred thousand Israelites perished in the wilderness because God was not well-pleased with them (1 Cor. 10:5). Those who would enjoy the promises of God in Psalm 91 and Psalm 121 should live lives that are pleasing to God.

God gives wisdom, knowledge, joy and happiness to those who please Him. ‘To the man with whom he is pleased, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy…’ (Eccl. 2:26 (BBE)).

God was pleased with Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego because of their resolve to serve Him faithfully and their refusal to allow sweet worldly things to defile them. God endowed them wisdom, knowledge and understanding (Daniel 1:8, 17). Because their God was pleased with them, they could astound their world with their God-given wisdom and knowledge, which beat, by a very wide margin, the wisdom and knowledge of the so-called wise men of their time.

When a man’s way pleases God, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him (Prov. 16:7).

Esau had a strong reason to tear Jacob and his sons to pieces and feed their flesh to the jackals. Jacob had cheated him of his birthright and blessing. For that reason, Esau had been after his blood.

It was him who had been responsible for Jacob’s hasty departure from his father’s house. But God was pleased with Jacob and would not allow Esau to harm him and his children.  God made Esau to be at peace with Jacob because Jacob pleased the Lord (Gen. 33:4).

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