“Live to please the heart of God.” The speaker repeated the phrase several times. The third time she said it, I really heard it! For weeks, Chuck’s messages had been focused on the events preceding the return of Christ. These sermons caused me to evaluate my life and my walk with the Lord in a fresh way.

Because I was born again, I knew I wouldn’t be left behind, but if the Lord were coming for His church today, what would I want to be sure I had done? The more I thought about it, the more concerned I became. So I prayed a simple prayer: “Lord, how do You want me to live in these last days?”

I don’t know how I expected Him to answer, but these words came clearly into my mind: “Live to please Me.” To please means to bring pleasure to; to satisfy; to gratify. That became my goal—to live a life pleasing to God.

During the next few weeks, the Lord used four Scriptures to confirm His answer to me. The first was Revelation 4:11: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (KJV, emphasis added). What an awesome thought! I was created for His pleasure.

Next, I casually pulled a Scripture out of a Bible promise box. It was John 8:29. Jesus confirmed that it is God’s will that we live to please Him when He said, “I always do those things that please [the Father]” (KJV, emphasis added). This is our Jesus in whose footsteps we are to walk.

The third confirmation came out of a little antique devotional I happened to be reading one day. It was based on Colossians 3:23: “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men” (KJV). A short selection from an old hymn accompanied the verse: Teach me, my God and King, In all things Thee to see, And what I do in anything. To do it as for Thee.

Finally, God confirmed His answer to me through Hebrews 11:5: “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (KJV, emphasis added). Those words, “That he pleased God,” struck a responsive chord in my heart.

“Does this please the heart of God?” simplifies my life. It isn’t always a choice between right and wrong; it is more often the choice between pleasing self and pleasing my heavenly Father. It should always be our desire to follow the example of Jesus and to “always do those things that please [the Father].”

Kay Smith
Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
Santa Ana, California