Mountain Movers

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)

This is an incredible verse. It teaches us a lot about the character of God, points out what motivation we should have, and truly exhilarates us. It gives us the energy necessary to thwart any attempts of doubt and discouragement that the devil throws our way. Without faith it is impossible to please God. When we are faithful we bring a smile to God's face, but when we are faithless or unfaithful, we displease, disappoint, and anger God. In fact, to those who were lukewarm, Jesus said in Revelation 3, "I am about to spit you out of my mouth." That clearly communicates what God feels when we do not have faith.

Why does God feel so displeased when we don't have faith? The answer lies in the remaining part of the verse. Those who have faith do several things according to this verse. First, they please God. Second, they come to God. Next, they believe that He exists. As well, they believe that God rewards the faithful. And finally, the faithful earnestly seek God. Let's look at each of these aspects in detail.

The faithful please God. It may be the case that both the faithful and faithless want to please God, but only the faithful succeed. Why? Wanting to please God is a good intention, but pleasing God requires action. It goes beyond the mere thought and tangibly applies faith. Of course, our actions will proceed out of our thoughts. However, the key here is that the faithful will follow through with what they intend.

Faith does something that will last through time because it taps into God's power. A vital component to a healthy relationship is when both partners strive to do what they can to please each other. When a couple truly loves, they will be willing to do whatever they can for each other. The same thing applies with God. He is the Creator of the Universe. Certainly, there can be no obstacle that can prevent us from pleasing Him. I thought about all the different ways that I can please God. I can please Him by praying to him, reading the Bible, sacrificing, changing my character into more godly qualities, serving others, sharing my faith, and giving to the poor. Of course, this list could go on. These all require faith. They may not be along the same lines as the heroic feats of faith listed in Hebrews, but God wants us to train in righteousness. As psychoanalyst Wilhelm Stekel once noted: "The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one."

God notices how we live to please Him in the day-to-day acts of faith we do as much as the "heroic" acts of faith. Those who are faithful come to God. They do not passively wait for God to perform a miracle in their lives or give them a sign. They initiate with God. They make the effort to draw nearer to God. Why? Because they realize they are helpless without God. Also, they want to be near God emotionally.

The faithful believe God exists. This may seem elementary, but it is not only believing that God exists intellectually, but also emotionally, in word and in deed. In James 2, the demons believe that God exists, but they don't actively practice their belief. If you believe that the Creator of the Universe exists and have an authentic relationship with Him, you will stand out from the crowd. Think about the story of David and Goliath. I'm sure many, if not all, of the Israelites intellectually believed God existed, yet they didn't do anything about it when confronted by the enemy of God in Goliath. David put his belief that God existed into practice and annihilated the giant.

The faithful believe God rewards them. It would be selfish to be motivated to be faithful to God because you believe you'll get a reward afterwards. However, the faithful unconditionally serve God. It just happens that God also rewards them. Think about the most encouraging and generous person you know. That person pales in comparison to how encouraging and generous God is. In 1 Kings 3, Solomon pleased God. God not only gave him what he asked for, He surprised Solomon by giving him much more than that. If you ever see someone who is full of faith, that person is also brimming with joy because he or she realizes the incredibly encouraging nature of God.

The faithful earnestly seek God. The term "earnestly seek" in the Greek is "ekzeteo" which means to search out, investigate, crave, demand, and worship. All of these descriptions involve full attention and effort of the person doing the action. There is an urgency to the action. If a policeman investigates a crime, that's the police officer's main priority. If you crave a snack, you're going to stop what you're doing and go out of your way to get one. Furthermore, if someone demands something from you, they are going to do whatever it takes to get it. As you can see, earnestly seeking God requires total concentration, effort, and attention. It's an undivided devotion that absolutely moves God. Why would the Creator who formed the entire universe expect anything less of us?

When we are full of faith, God gives back to us in ways we can't imagine. In the next chapter, we'll look at an example of that in the life of Noah. While others around him were bound for destruction, Noah's faith was enough for God to spare his life and bless him in ways that he could never envision, including every single person living in the world today being a direct descendant of Noah.