And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6
My job growing up was to help out around the house. Anything my mom and dad asked me to do, my only answer was to be “Yes.” But it didn’t stop there. My yes had to be immediately followed by my actually getting up and doing it. Or at least trying to do it. A lot of the time, my trying was followed by the third step: my failing.
My mom would call to me to help clean the house. This involved getting down on my knees and washing the floor with a scrub brush. Once cleaned, I had to wipe the floor with a wet rag to finish the job. This involved wringing out all the water from the rag before dunking it again into the water.
But for some reason, I could never get all the water out of that rag like my mom could. I’d fold it just the way she did and I’d turn it with all my strength. Some water always came out. Then mom would grab that very same rag and wow. You should have seen how much more water came out. It was amazing.
Same thing happened with my dad. I’d be helping him build or fix something around the house. I’d try and turn the screwdriver, but no dice. Then my dad would grab it and it would go in like a hot knife through butter.
You see, they were not just stronger, they were way more stronger than I was. They also had lots more experience. They’d been doing these things for a long time. They’d been through all depression and a war. They knew all about how to be strong and not give in. Not give up.
This is exactly what the writer wants for his friends, the Hebrews. He didn’t want them to give up. To give in. To let other people push them around. For them to get discouraged by the painful circumstances of life that persecution had brought their way. And the best way to not give up is to have faith in God.
How can we please God? It all starts with faith. Without faith, we just can’t please God at all. Period. There just ain’t no way. It’s just impossible. You can’t get there from here. To show our faith, it must change us. It has to get down into who we really are. Deep into the center of what we really believe. What makes us do, say, and believe the things that make us who we are. There are two parts to this faith.
God Exists. It sounds so obvious, but we have to start with the fact that there is a God. He’s not just some idea that people came up with either. He’s not some fairytale that makes us feel good, or fills us with fear. He’s so very far above anything we could begin to imagine. He has all power. All Knowledge. All wisdom. And he has a plan that includes us.
God Rewards. He’s not just someone that throws candy from a truck as he drives by. God will prove himself to be a rewarder. He’s watching and his deep desire is to respond to our faith in him. To live by faith means to choose our words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes to be in line with who he is and what he wants us to do.
But there’s a requirement for God rewarding. And it’s the part that irritates us. Like something stuck between our teeth, it just bothers us. Or it’s like that itch that we just can’t seem to reach. And when we finally twist ourselves into a pretzel and scratch it, it doesn’t really make it go away.
And that something is we must diligently be seeking God. We have to pursue God. This isn’t some part-time job or hobby that we do whenever. It means that we have to be presently and actively going after God. To want to always be near him. To be worshipping him all day long. To be obeying him by being patient and kind to all the people we bump into.
There’s no instant when it comes to seeking God. It takes time. It starts with the thoughts that are in our mind right now. And then in the next thought. And the one after that. And the words we’re saying. And then the next sentence. And the one after that. It has to be our number one priority in life.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33
Now comes the tricky part. We have to be willing to put our stuff aside. What we think we need to be doing. What we must accomplish. How we can be better and more famous than our family and friends. To have more of everything. To dress better. To have a nicer car. A bigger house.
But none of that matters. We have to choose against ourselves and for God. We need to deny ourselves and follow Jesus all day long[1]. For the rest of our lives. Yes, we have to do the impossible. But it’s only impossible if we’re trying to do it by ourselves. In our own strength. But it’s possible when we lean on God’s power and grace through Jesus.
Noodling Questions
Why do we think that we can accomplish anything? That nothing’s impossible?
Describe the difference between seeking God and doing it diligently.
How is choosing ourselves over God the biggest looser of an idea in the world?
[1] Matthew 16:24
wonderful article; I could relate to each and every word of it.