Psalm 147
10
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor
his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear
him,
in those who hope in his
steadfast love.
Do
you please God? Many of us, if we really thought about our lives, would answer
no. We would drag out our sin and weigh it against the ‘good’ things we are
involved in, and the scales wouldn’t balance out.
Some
would look at their life and answer that they are pleasing to God. They would follow
with a list of reasons why this is the case. They serve in two different
ministries, give of their time to missions work, are faithful and read their
Bible each and every morning and are at church whenever the doors are open.
They sacrifice, give, work…
Maybe
your list of why you please God reads more like this- you don’t drink, smoke,
swear, party, sleep around… Maybe you think God is pleased because of all of
the worldly things you ‘give up’ for Him….
But
are any of these what pleases God? Don’t get me wrong; these are all good things.
They are things we should be doing or things we should refrain from… but do
they earn God’s favor?
Psalm
147:11 says that the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who
hope in his steadfast love. This says nothing about a list of dos and don’ts. It
has nothing to do with our merit or balancing out scales with our works…
God
takes pleasure in you because you fear Him and hope in His steadfast love.
Focus on His steadfast love for you. Ask Him to make known to you the love that
He has had for you in your best and worst moments… that He had for you before
you were even formed. When you truly understand His love for you, that is what
drives you to live a life that gives, serves, and sacrifices… not out of duty
or to earn His grace, but because of the love you have for Him.
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