A Secret to a Life That Pleases God
In your walk with the Lord. does it ever feel like you take two steps forward and slide back one? Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light, but there are times when it doesn’t feel easy. Rather, it feels impossible.
When I asked Jesus into my heart as a child, I was grateful for God’s love for me and I committed to live my life to pay Him back. I wanted to please Him in all that I did. But I had a problem. God knew my heart.
I never could be good enough. I kept putting myself above God. When I did what I wanted to do instead of seeking Him, I found myself doing things I didn’t want to do, because I wasn’t pleasing God.
The Lord was gracious. Over the years, I had several encounters with Him where I dramatically experienced His love even though I failed Him. When in college, I sought His forgiveness for a willful failure, and He wrapped me in His loving embrace. I no longer had to prove myself. He loved me unconditionally.
Another time, it seemed I couldn’t do anything right and couldn’t get along with anybody. I didn’t deserve His love, but I needed it desperately, and the Lord opened the heavens and wrapped me in His arms. His love has never failed.
But I question how much I love Him.
In 1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” Our obedience to God is a measure of how much we love Him.
Failure to obey God, to live in a way that is pleasing to Him, is indicative of a lack of love.
According to this measure, my love for God ebbs and flows. When I’m experiencing His embracing love, it is my joy and delight to please Him. If I get distracted by the busyness or struggles of life and am not so aware of the Lord and His love for me, I tend to get slack in my walk/obedience.
The key to a life that please God is love. We’re told to love God with all of our being. Maybe that is why it’s the great commandment, the one that encompasses all others. When we love Him, we will seek Him and enjoy spending time with Him. We delight in pleasing Him.
Think of a couple before marriage–yourself, or someone you know. Leading up to the wedding, life is motivated and energized by devotion to the love of your life. It is a joy to be together and go the extra mile to please the one you love.
However, after a few years (months?) of marriage, most people become accustomed to that love and even expect it. The honeymoon is over. The desire and energy to please is not as strong, because self-interests and desires don’t die easily. They compete with the desire to please another.
The same is true with our relationship with God. When He is not central in our lives, we move into the number one position and try to be good on our own. We fail because without Him, we can’t do it.
Our motivation and ability to keep God’s commandments and please Him in all we do is directly related to our fellowship with Him. When we love Him with our whole beings and seek Him first, “His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Rather, they are a joy because we joy in His love and in pleasing Him.
Love of God is loaded with rewards. If we love Him, He gives us the desire and strength to please Him. “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments” seems daunting when we’re trying to please Him in our own strength because we see our many failures.
On the other hand, if we focus on the love end of the equation, there is hope and provision for the second part. We don’t have to be good enough for Him. We just need to love Him more. Obedience will follow naturally and His burden will be light.