First and foremost is believing faith, a transformed heart fully devoted to Him. Without faith it's impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). That's where we all must start, or nothing else we do or think or feel will count.
Paul tells the Philippians that it is God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). Amazing. God works in us for His own pleasure. It's that important to Him, and He even makes it possible. I don't have to do it by myself. It's the Holy Spirit living within me, but it's my cooperating with Him about it.
I recall what pleasure it gave me for my daughters to actually want to do the things I had worked to instill in them when they were growing up, things like waiting for their mother to begin eating before they took that first bite at the dinner table. That was teaching them how to be a guest in someone's home, to honor the hostess. It pleased me when it naturally became a part of their dinner etiquette. God is pleased when we respond with a "want to" heart to His working within. He's pleased to do what is good for us.
Remember when God told Solomon that he would give him whatever he wanted, and Solomon asked for a discerning heart? God was pleased with that (I Kings 3). I wonder if that's what I would have asked for if God had told me that He would give me anything I wanted. I know something I want deep down in my heart right now. Would I choose a discerning heart instead? God is pleased with us when we want heart change, when we want a heart that discerns His will. It pleases Him to give us a heart for His ways.
What else pleases God? Psalm 147 tells us that He takes pleasure in those who fear him and those who hope in His mercy. Without His mercy where would we be? Without God's mercy we would all be in a pit of desolation. Before we can hope in His mercy, we must first fear His judgment of sin. If we fear that, God in His mercy takes pleasure in redeeming us from ourselves and our sin. He wants us to lie down in green pastures, to lead us beside still waters, to restore our soul, and to lead us in paths of righteousness--for His namesake. We have the blessed expectant hope that His goodness and His mercy will follow us all the days of our life! (Psalm 23)
I didn't exhaust my inquiry into this topic, but it's clear to me that pleasing God isn't a list of what to do and what not to do. It's a matter of faith, a matter of the heart, of being willing to work in tandem with Him. It's a matter of fearing Him and relying on His mercy to change me into the likeness of His Son, of being willing to let Him rescue me from my second greatest enemy--myself. It pleases Him for me to want that.
My meditations lead me to wonder--if God offered me anything, what would I choose?
Image ~ Sunflowers, via pixabay
CC0 Creative Commons
CC0 Creative Commons
