Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Philippians 2:12-13 NLT

The power to please is something most people value. We appreciate it when someone does something to encourage or bring delight to us. We also experience joy when we are able to help meet someone else’s needs.

People who delight in pleasing others have also learned to be careful. Questions of motive, purpose, desire, and wisdom come into play. Pleasing others for the wrong reasons can be a dangerous trap, especially when the people we are trying to please are not trustworthy.

Perhaps this is why the subject of pleasing God is so important to consider. In my own life I have come to know the following about pleasing God:

• We are created in God’s image. God is pleased with this about you and me.
• Jesus has saved me from my sins. Everything about the choices of my life that don’t please God have been forgiven and redeemed.
• Efforts to follow and please God in my own strength always come up short.
• The Holy Spirit is working within me to be about a way of living that pleases God.
• With God working in my life, providing what I need to follow, I am able to please Him by doing what His purposes are for me.

Everyday there is this realization that with God leading and working within my life, I can do what pleases Him.

Encouragement:  God is trustworthy.  Pleasing Him is always the very best thing for you and me.  He asks us to be intentional about it. He also works deeply within us giving us what we need to live in the ways He has laid out for us.

Prayer:  Dear God, here You go again. Asking us to do something hard. Then you follow up the ask with the resources to do it. Pleasing You began when You created us in Your image and said we are good.  Pleasing You continued when we accepted the saving work of Jesus Christ that dealt with the sin and evil that permeated our lives. Pleasing You lives through our lives today when the Holy Spirit works deeply within us, equipping us to follow and obey. Help us with the effort we need to put in every day, knowing that pleasing You is the very best thing we can do with our lives every day. In Jesus name we pray, Amen

I am so thankful for this ministry family!

Ed McDowell, CEO Warm Beach Camp Ministries