The Faith That Pleases God

"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
(c) The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers., 1982, S.

If you care at all about pleasing God, this verse is a good one to consider. From it we learn that if we don't have faith we can't please God. But what kind of faith is being written about in this passage?

This faith definitely has to do with coming to God. No one is going to come to a God if he doesn't believe a God exists. So the very start of the faith that can please God is one that believes there really is a God.

Believing God exists is a necessary beginning, but if that is where people stop they will one day day discover they fell far short of what pleases God. Satan believes there is a God but wants to replace Him as Lord of all creation. We can believe God is real but then only seek to have our own selves as lord of what we think, say, and do.

After we come to believe that God is real, we must then continue on to believe that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.

What do you suppose is the reward that people get for earnestly seeking God? Well, if I was one to seek after gold, the reward I would hope to get would be gold. If I'm going to fervently seek God then the reward I hope to get will be God Himself.

When I was pursuing a certain lady who used to live in California, getting to know her better, and learning what pleased her, my reward came when she became my wife. I still have that glorious reward of being married to her, and it keeps getting better.

How do we diligently seek God? Well, there's a book that helps us to know Him better. The Bible. There are also Bible study materials, and Bible teachers who can help us know God better.

If we can't be bothered with reading and studying the Bible, and if we fail to take advantage of what godly Bible teachers have to offer, then we are not diligently seeking God. So whatever faith we think we have may not be the faith that pleases God.

I want to please God. Therefore I want to seek Him not in a half-hearted way, but with all my heart. I pray you will do the same. When you think of it, please pray that I will follow through with my diligently seeking God every day.