Faith and Pleasing God

“…Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
(Hebrews 11:1)

We hear much chatter these days about faith. People will tell one another, “You have a lot of faith!” Or someone might state, “I have faith in God,” as a confession of their beliefs. Or individuals will validate each other with a casual, “I have faith in you”.

I love the eleventh book of Hebrews – the faith hall of fame, as it might be aptly titled. The writer of Hebrews, considered by most to be the apostle Paul, tells us in the very first verse of this chapter, “Now faith is being SURE of what we HOPE for and CERTAIN of what we do not seen.” (Emphasis mine) I cannot fathom a better description than this and it is a description and definition that is certain to challenge us when meditated upon and carefully digested.

It is only by these certainties that there IS a God, He is listening and interceding for His children, that we, the servants of God, may survive in the dangerous, fallen world in which we live. By that faith, we are promised that we can overcome our ultimate enemy, Satan, as he goes about attempting to “steal, kill, and destroy” the children of the Most High God.

By that deeply embedded faith, as God’s children, we are capable of fighting the enemies and battles of this life – staring down the lion in the lion’s den as Daniel did or praying against a contemporary enemy who threatens our very being. (1 John 5:4: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith”).

Ultimately, it is by this faith, when carried throughout life until the last breath we inhale, that we are given the ultimate victory over the grave. (I Corinthians 15:55: “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”)

I love to read of the “by faiths” of what each believer noted in Hebrews 11 accomplished ….. Noah, Abraham, and Moses to name a few of those faith-filled believers who have gone before me and whom one day I will join in Heaven. I especially appreciate the comment made about Enoch: “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” (Hebrews 11:5)

How awesome to have a life end like Enoch’s – he didn’t die, didn’t suffer, didn’t have to plan a funeral, he was simply “taken by God”. I wonder what my modern day family would do if God should just decide to “take me” one day – I wouldn’t suffer or die in a hospital, He would just sweep me from my earthly home to my Heavenly home? I would hope they would read their Bibles or my Blog and see that this could be possible based on historical, Biblical accounts and wouldn’t file a missing persons' report on me!

But even more striking to my heart, are the final words in the description of Enoch: “…he pleased God”. There would be nothing I would rather hear from my Heavenly Father than, “Child, you and your life were pleasing to Me.” Can you imagine the Lord of the Universe whispering that into your ears? Can you visualize that moment when the Lord gives you that ultimate pat on the back? All too often, we spend valuable hours and days, trying to please man, when, ultimately we need to be focused on pleasing God with our hearts, our mouths, our deeds, our lives, and our faith.

In closing, this Scripture is especially meaningful to me: I Thessalonians 2:4: “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts”.

May our lives be pleasing to God. May our faith be strong. May we never fail Him.