Day #9- What on Earth am I Here For?
Day#9
What Makes God Smile?
The smile of God should be the Goal of your life.
The bible says, "Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it." (Eph5:10). A clear example of a life that gives pleasure to God is the life of Noah. In Noah's day, the entire world had become morally bankrupt. Everyone lived for their own pleasure, not God's. God became so disgusted with the human race he created, that he considered wiping it all out, but there was ONE man that "made God smile". A man named Noah.
Gen6:8 says "Noah was a pleasure to the Lord." It is because Noah made God smile that you and I are alive today!
GOD SMILES when we LOVE HIM supremely! Noah loved God more than anything else in the world, even when none else did! "Noah consistently followed God's will and enjoyed a close relationship with Him." (Gen6:9) You can learn a lot from Noah. God created you to love you and he longs for you to love him back; He says, "I don't want your sacrifices- I want your love! Hosea6:6
Learning to love God and be loved by him should be the greatest objective of your life. NOTHING ELSE COME CLOSE in importance!! "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. This is the first and GREATEST commandment." (Matt22:37-38)
GOD SMILES when we TRUST HIM completely! The second reason Noah pleased God was that he trusted God, even when it didn't make sense. The bible says Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn't see, and acted on what he was told… As a result, Noah became intimate with God!! Imagine… God comes to Noah and says, I'm disappointed in human beings; noone thinks of me, but when I look at you… I SMILE!! I am pleased with your life. So I'm going to flood the world and start over with you and your family. Build a ship that will save you and the animals.
Problems that could have caused Noah to doubt-
First, Noah had never seen rain, bc prior to flood, God irrigated the Earth from the ground up. Second, Noah lived hundreds of miles from the ocean- even if he could learn to build the ship, how would he get it to the water? Third, the problem of rounding up all the animals and caring for them. But, Noah didn't complain or make excuses… he trusted God completely… And that made GOD SMILE!!! (This makes me cry tears of joy.. I can so relate to NOAH- Not understanding it all, but somehow just KNOWING God will pull thru.. a TRUST that can't be explained! And the joy that comes when you feel him "smiling at you")
It took Noah 120 yrs to build the ark. He was criticized as a "Crazy Man!" Yet Noah kept on trusting God. Trusting is an act of worship. The bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb11:6)
GOD SMILES when we OBEY HIM wholeheartedly! Obeying and understanding don't usually happen at the same time… Understanding usually comes later, but God is greatly pleased when he sees you obey, especially when you don't understand. Often ppl choose to partially obey.. "I will go to church, but I won't tithe" "I'll read my bible, but I won't forgive someone that hurt me." Wholehearted obedience is done joyfully. The bible says, "Obey him gladly." Ex: The attitude of David: "Just tell me what to do and I will do it Lord. As long as I live I will wholeheartedly obey." The bible is clear that you cannot earn your salvation- It comes only by grace, not your effort! But, "We poease God by what WE DO and not only by what we believe." (Eph5:17) As a child of God, you bring pleasure to ur Heavenly Father thru obedience. Any act of obedience is an act of worship. Why does it please him when we obey? Bc it proves you LOVE HIM! Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey my commandments." (Phil3:13)
GOD SMILES when we PRAISE and THANK him continually! He smiles when we express our adoration and gratitude to him- HE LOVES IT!! :) Noah's life brought pleasure to God bc he lived with a heart of praise and thanksgiving. His 1st act after surviving the flood, was to express his THANKS to GOD!! "Then Noah built an altar to the Lord… and sacrificed burnt offerings on it." Bc of Jesus' sacrifice, we don't offer animal sacrifices, instead we are told to offer God the "Sacrifice of praise" and the "Sacrifice of thanksgiving". We thank God for "who he is" and "what he's done" (Don't wait until he does what you WANT to thank him… Just thank him for who he is… and for saving you- that is enough to thank him thru every moment of your life!!)
GOD SMILES when we USE OUR ABILITIES! After the flood, God gave Noah these simple instructions "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the Earth… Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything." God basically said to him, Its time to get on with your life! Do the things I designed humans to do- make love with your wife, have babies, raise families, plant crops, eat meals… Be humans! This is what I made you to be!
You may feel that the only time God is pleased with you is when you're doing "spiritual" activities, but God enjoys watching every detail of your life. Just as parents enjoy seeing their kids enjoying life, God enjoys seeing us enjoying ours. Every human activity, except sin, can be done for God's pleasure, if you do it with an attitude of praise. Like a proud parent, God especially enjoys watching you use the talents and abilities he gave you. He gifted us differently for his enjoyment- He made some athletic and others analytical. Using your God-Given abilities bring a smile to God's face- Some are gifted in mechanics, math, music, and many other skills. "He has shaped each person in turn; now he watches everything we do" (psalm 33:15). You don't bring pleasure to God by hiding your abilities or trying to be someone else.
God is looking for ppl like Noah in the 21st century- ppl willing to live for the pleasure of God. He looks down on all of mankind to see are there any who want to please him.
Will you make pleasing God the goal of your life?
There is NOTHING that God won't do for the person totally absorbed with this goal!! Amen
Created 4 months ago
