Are You Pleasing God or Trusting Him? By Pete BriscoeSample

The Road Less Traveled

Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. —Robert Frost

Bruce McNicol’s book, TrueFaced, brought me face to face with a paradoxical, perplexing dilemma—a question that all of us must answer:

Am I trying to live a life that is pleasing God, or am I trusting God?

It really came down to trust, faith, and whom I was placing my trust in.

1. I can choose to trust in myself and in my own efforts in order to earn God's pleasure.
2. I can choose to trust in Christ, living His life through me, to enable me to live a life that is pleasing to God.

Trusting God means a life of faith. It is a life of deepening intimacy and moment-by-moment surrender and dependency. Amazingly and paradoxically, this road of trusting God is the one that actually leads to pleasing God!

Consider Hebrews 11:5-6:

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

That’s the twist that brings it all together. “Pleasing God” and “trusting God” are not mutually exclusive after all!

Do I choose to “please God” or will I “trust God?” The choice is yours, of course. Moment by moment, day by day until this one life is over, you must choose your path. Just know this:

The road of trust leads to both. The road of attempting to please God leads to neither.

Choose wisely.

God of Grace, by the power of Your Spirit in me and the Truth of Your Living Word, I choose the road of trust. I trust in You—and You alone—to live through me in a way that is pleasing to You. Amen.