A Great Cloud of Witnesses: Enoch预览

Margaret was hard to please. She was rarely satisfied. Her friends always felt like they were letting her down. Often, she would chastise them for things that weren’t inherently wrong. And, boy, did she hold a grudge. If you crossed her, you were done for life...forever and always cast out of her inner circle, which was already quite small.

Obviously, Margaret is a fictional character, although I’m certain there are many “Margaret’s” out there. But I’ve also been Margaret before. I’ve held a grudge or have been easily irritated. Thankfully, during those times, I’ve repented and turned to receive God’s grace.

But what if God was more like you and me? What if He was easily irritated? What if He held a grudge? Maybe you’ve heard this text quoted before: “Without faith it is impossible to please him” (Heb. 11:6). We typically quote this and think, Great, then I can’t and will never be able to please the Lord. But this verse implies that it is possible to please God. And He rewards those who believe. Wow, it’s pretty jaw-dropping amazing. God wants us to seek Him, draw near to Him, believe in Him, and what does He do? He rewards us.

If you don’t believe in God—if you do not trust in His promises to you—then it doesn’t please Him. We can ask the Lord to help us draw near with a true heart believing that Jesus intercedes for us and that God hears us. And if we don’t believe, God tells us that we can tell Him and ask Him for faith to believe.

God is not like us. It pleases Him that we come to Him with our weak faith. You and I get to have a relationship with Him. It is to our benefit to know Him, and He’s not hiding.

Why do you think (believing in Him and His promises) pleases the Lord?