How to Please God

Examining Your Relationship with God

Know that you are God's child. You need to look at your relationship with God in the same way that God does. This means viewing God as a Heavenly Father and not as an impersonal deity. Your relationship with God should be based on love and not on the blind obedience of rules. Think about family relationships among humans, focusing primarily on the relationship between parent and child. Even someone who has had issues with a human parent can usually understand what healthy parental love looks like. The expectations God has for you are similar to the expectations a loving parent has for his or her child. The only difference is that God's love is perfect, so the things he desires of you and for you are perfect, as well.

Have faith. In this context, "faith" means believing in God and believing that God will fulfill the promises He makes. It also means trusting God with every aspect of your life and having confidence in God's ways above and before your own. Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) explains, "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." Faith should be the foundation of your Christian life. Every good thing that God leads you to do and that you do for the sake of pleasing God should be a direct result of your faith. The more you strengthen your faith, the more earnest you will naturally become in your desire to do what is pleasing to God.

Accept God's grace. All humans are born into sin and fall short of perfection, but through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, humanity is offered grace and a clean slate. Accepting this sacrifice and following Christ into grace is a key component of pleasing God. God does not want you to be a slave to sin and death. Accepting the gift of salvation that God offers to you is the greatest thing you can do to please Him.

Walk in the Spirit. You can either live by the flesh or live by the Spirit. If you live by the flesh, you let the ways and temptations of the world rule your life. If you live by the Spirit, you live your life centered around your dedication to God. Only living by the Spirit will allow you to be in the position of pleasing God. As noted in Romans 8:7-8, "The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God." Walking in the Spirit does not mean that you will never sin again, of course. You will face temptation and stumble from time to time. When you do fall, examine your conscience, repent, and ask God to help you resist that same temptation in future.

Fear God. Fearing God does not mean that you should spend your days living in fear of divine punishment. In this context, "fear" is a sort of respect and reverence. To fear God, you simply need to recognize the power and authority He has over everything else. As indicated in Psalm 147:11, "The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love." The right kind of fear can remind you to stay accountable and help you resist temptation. Realizing how much a being as powerful as God loves a being as weak as a human can also deepen your love and appreciation for God.

Deepening Your Relationship with God

Serve God freely and with love. God does not force you to love or serve Him; He merely gives you the freedom to do so. Once you understand that serving God is a privilege and a liberty, doing so out of love can become more natural. Remember that your relationship with God should be centered on love. If you are serving God out of blind obedience or a desire to “look good” in front of your peers and family, your focus is off and needs to be adjusted.

Set aside your "to do" list. There are plenty of good things you can do to serve God and strengthen your faith in Him, but if you find yourself prioritizing your "to do" list of works over your actual relationship with God, you need to change your focus. Bible study, fellowship with other Christians, and quiet meditation are all tools you should use to deepen your relationship with God. Understand that God's approval does not depend upon how thoroughly or frequently you make use of these tools, though. God takes more pleasure in your faith and relationship with Him than in the exact tools you use to express that faith. If you ever have to choose between doing good works in God's name and working on your relationship with God, choose the latter. If you allow your faith to become empty and shallow, even the best of your works will become meaningless on a spiritual level.

Seek and submit to God's will. In a broad sense, discovering God's will can be done by studying the Bible and seeking a deeper understanding of it. To understand God's will for your life, you also need to pray on it and look for signs of divine guidance in your own life. Hebrews 13:20-21 states, "Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever and ever." Seeking God's will does not mean trying to look good. It does mean sincerely working toward spiritual maturity and union with God. Anything that brings you closer to God will ultimately produce consequences that please God.

Obey God's commands. God does not issue commands and set down laws for the sake of restricting humanity. The laws given by God are done for mankind's sake, and following those laws will ultimately make you a better person and protect you from spiritual harm. Since God loves humanity, He also takes pleasure in things that are good for humanity. As such, following God's law and improving your character as a spiritual being is a pleasing thing for God to watch. Understand that God never commands the impossible. Following God's commands may mean that you will need to ignore your own desires and fears, but ultimately, God will give you the ability to do so.

Understand the purpose of sacrifice. Sacrifices that are made for the sake of looking good are shallow and devoid of any real meaning. Likewise, those that actually reflect disobedient hearts are also unwanted. Sacrifices made in love can please God, however. As Hebrews 13:15-16 explains, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." From this passage, you can conclude that the sacrifices involved in giving genuine praise to God and those made in order to share good with others are pleasing sacrifices.

Aim for excellence. Every human being is tainted by sin and falls short of perfection, so trying to be perfect will only lead to disappointment and frustration. However, if you focus on living an excellent life for God instead of worrying about each of your imperfections, you'll be able to live a happier and more meaningful life. Doing excellent works in God's name is pleasing to God, of course, but the spiritual enrichment you'll experience in your own life as a result is also a source of pleasure.

Celebrate the Sabbath. Devote the day to both God and the practice of resting. Like any of God's commands, honoring the Sabbath is for your benefit as much as it is for God's pleasure. Spend time in God's company. Take the opportunity to meditate on His promises and presence, and step away from the demands of a busy world long enough to reconnect to your faith. Commit to doing only activities that are relaxing and enjoyable. Too much work is stressful and unhealthy. God wants what is best for you, which means that you'll need to find time to rest.

Letting Your Faith Shine

Follow Christ's example. Aside from offering hope and salvation to humanity, Jesus also gave the human race a perfect example of the sort of life one should lead in order to please God. If you want to know what a life that pleases God looks like, you don't need to look any further than the example Jesus gives. Study the teachings of Jesus and use them to guide your own actions. Even though you will fall short of the perfection evident in Christ's actions and words, merely seeking to follow His example is pleasing to God.

Give out of love rather than duty. It's true that God wants you to support and give to others, but you need to cultivate an attitude of love and true charity if those gifts will have any pleasing, spiritual significance. The next time you give a donation or tithe, meditate on the specific needs your gift will help fulfill. When you feel as though you are part of a solution, you may find it easier to give out of love and joy.

Love the people in your life. Even when you don't feel love for those around you, you should act in love towards them. You need to love people who are both easy and difficult to handle. Acting in love can be as simple as respecting someone you don't get along with or as complex as meeting a need someone has regardless of whether you like that person or not.

Consider new responsibilities carefully. God takes pleasure in a generous heart, but that doesn't mean you should accept every responsibility presented to you. Consider the potential responsibility carefully. Ask yourself if it could cause stress, failure, or guilt. Most importantly, ask if accepting it will lead you closer to or further away from God. Even if you want to do good by accepting the responsibility, the wrong responsibility accepted during the wrong season of your life can ultimately produce negative consequences, including a weakened relationship with God.

Treasure the present moment. Don't live in constant regret of the past or fear of the future. Treat each day as the gift from God that it truly is. Each day is another opportunity to grow in faith and understanding. You'll please God simply in seeking Him day by day.