Hebrews 11: 6 says, But without faith it is
impossible to please Him, (God) for he who comes to God must believe that He
is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
This is
telling us that faith is a really big thing to God. When we have faith in Him, it pleases
Him. This week I got a small inkling of
this kind of pleasure that God gets from our trust and faith in Him. Three of my grandchildren were spending the
evening with us while their mom and dad had a much-needed date night.
Six-year-old
Calvin was educating younger brother (three-year-old Elijah) about the horrors
of ticks and tick bites. He had watched
a documentary about the scariest animals (mosquitos and ticks were at the top
of the list). He was quite descriptive
about how the nasty little fiends latch on and don’t let go. He made it sound like they never let go and
you are now doomed. Elijah didn’t bat an
eye but proclaimed with complete confidence, “Granny will save me.”
Sweet were
the words, they melted my heart. And they were cute and funny. I have chuckled each time I remember his
confident words. But there was something else.
It pleased me that he had faith that Granny would save him from any
nasty tick. He sees me as a protector
and deliverer, a safe place.
This little
episode reminded me that God is my protector, my deliverer, and my safe place
of refuge from every trial, fear and enemy.
When faith rises to the surface and I trust God to see me thru a hard
situation, or joy comes bubbling into my heart because I know with confidence
that I am His child and He has redeemed me and has given me a place in His
family, and when I am comforted by the truth of His love for me I know that
these seedlings of faith rising up please my Heavenly Father. That is what you call a win, win.
Why do you suppose faith is such a big deal to
God? For one thing, if you are looking
anywhere else besides Him it is useless wasted time and effort. The One True
God knows there is no other god, no other power, no other wisdom. Because of His love He wants us to come to
the real One and only. If you are trusting yourself, you are missing
out on the strength and power and wisdom of the Creator of the universe. God desires for us to have access to these
things.
Jesus said
in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except
through Me. Jesus is the access
key.
I believe
what Jesus said. I choose to come to God
through Jesus. That is faith. It pleases God. I now have access to this Father who has
power and wisdom and love.
There are way
more than nasty ticks out there to grab hold of us. No matter how complicated life gets, no
matter how disturbing the world news is, no matter what the enemy throws at me,
with confidence I can say, “God will save me”.
Will things
always turn out the way I want them to?
No, but I know that my soul is secure and I can say with assurance
because of what Jesus Christ has done, God will save me. You want to please God? Have faith.
It truly is a win, win.
