By Faith We Please God

What IS it that God wants from us? Most days, I think we'd be content to figure out what our spouse or boss or parent or child(ren) want from us. Any of the above at any time is great. All at one time...well, that's probably not gonna happen any time soon! But I guess that is a big part of what keeps life from becoming boring. With God, though, the mystery can be solved.

In today's post, we're going to look at Hebrews 11:5 which says,

"Because of faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For even before he was taken to heaven, he received testimony [still on record] that he had pleased and been satisfactory to God." (italics mine)

Because of Enoch's trust in God, and his understanding that it is our trust that most pleases God, Enoch experienced life, but never death.

Wow. Let that sink in for just a minute.

As I type this and attempt to imagine what that must have been like, I honestly just can't. I cannot imagine the experience Enoch must have had: to be walking through life with God and to be 'translated' to my forever home. To not even have a glimpse of death. Wow.

But one thing I can identify with--or at least I'm learning to--is the relationship Enoch enjoyed with God and that God most desires that I trust Him: His character, His goodness, His forgiveness, His redemption, His plans, His motives, His nature, His will, HIM! You see, as my friend John Lynch has so beautifully taught me and others, you can spend your life trying to please God and never learn how to trust Him. But, when you trust Him, He says, "My child, you've never pleased me more!"

You see, it is out of a relationship based upon trust that the relationship will thrive and mature into all it is intended to be. I will obey with genuine, heartfelt obedience to the degree that I trust God. I can only be as close to someone to the degree that I trust that person. This is at the core of so many relationship issues: friends, married couples, parent/child, work associates, etc. Most people don't really trust others. And, as I've also learned from my friends in Phoenix, if I don't trust you, you can't love me, no matter how much love you have for me.

Until we can trust all of who we are to all of who He is, we will never experience the adventure, the joy, the authenticity, that is the abundant Christian life.

And, just how is trust developed? Time and experience. God takes that mustard sized seed of our faith when we trust Christ as our Savior, and as we choose to be intentional to know Him more, and obey Him with the faith we have at present, that relationship and trust develop and mature. This doesn't happen overnight, and it usually happens when we least expect it. Trust is developed and matures as we struggle through the challenging, painful, and even wonderful things we experience in life. It happens as we get to know God through His Word and through relationships with others.

"Because of faith...(Enoch) pleased God..." Because of our trust in God, our faith in Him above all else, He is pleased with us--you and me. This is good news!! This is the Gospel=bringing God and man back into right relationship with one another, with nothing standing between us.

Oh God, may my faith in You be strengthened more and more as I make it my life's mission to know You more!

The Real Me

Several years ago I taught through the book of Jeremiah in my Sunday School class. As always, the teacher always learns more than the student (and usually needs to!). One passage in particular stood out to me then, and has come to mind today. If you have about 2 minutes, read Jeremiah's words from the New Living Translation:

Jeremiah’s Complaint
From Jeremiah Chapter 20
7 O Lord, you misled me, and I allowed myself to be misled. You are stronger than I am, and you overpowered me. Now I am mocked every day; everyone laughs at me. 8 When I speak, the words burst out. “Violence and destruction!” I shout. So these messages from the Lord have made me a household joke. 9 But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it! 10 I have heard the many rumors about me. They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.” They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.” Even my old friends are watching me, waiting for a fatal slip. “He will trap himself,” they say, “and then we will get our revenge on him.”

11 But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten. 12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, you test those who are righteous, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets. Let me see your vengeance against them, for I have committed my cause to you. 13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For though I was poor and needy, he rescued me from my oppressors.

14 Yet I curse the day I was born! May no one celebrate the day of my birth. 15 I curse the messenger who told my father, “Good news—you have a son!” 16 Let him be destroyed like the cities of old that the Lord overthrew without mercy. Terrify him all day long with battle shouts, 17 because he did not kill me at birth. Oh, that I had died in my mother’s womb, that her body had been my grave! 18 Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame.


How many times do we go through these same emotions, from doom and despair and complaining, to praising and worshiping, and then right back to "woe is me!"?
I love that the people written about in Scripture were REAL people. Not one of them was perfect. In fact, most of them were pretty messed up, but one thing I notice about the ones God used most mightily: they were there authentic selves before God. Jeremiah wasn't out to impress God with how much faith he had. He went to God with who he really was. He brought all of who he was to all of who God is. Sometimes I find myself stressing, "Am I praying just the right way?" "What am I doing that is causing me to have so many things go wrong all at the same time?" And other thoughts like this. But then I go back to truth that says that because of His grace, I can approach God boldly in my time of need. (See Hebrews 4:14-16)


I don't have to pretend with Him or perform for Him~If I do, He'll see right through it anyways. I am thankful that I, like Jeremiah, can be a real person with real struggles, real complaints, and real faith. FAITH is all about the one whom you put your trust in; it's not a measure of how strong you are.


Thank you God that you see the real me, and you don't turn away when you do. Thank you that I can come to you just as I am.
And, thank you that you love me right where I am, and that you love me too much to leave me there.

If you've never heard Natalie Grant's song, "The Real Me," you can listen to it here I have it downloaded on my iPhone and I listen to it fairly often. It's a great reminder that God sees, and God loves, the REAL me. I hope it'll be an encouragement to you today as well!
Adapted from and Originally Posted Wednesday, November 19, 2008