Impossible To Please?

Impossible to Please?

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

Hebrews 11:1-3, NASB

Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6, NASB

At last everyone will say, “There truly is a reward for those who live for God; surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.”

Psalm 58:11

Some bosses and teachers are impossible to please. They seem to always find some fault with a person’s work or effort. It can be disheartening and discouraging, making that person just want to give up trying.

Some people see God like that—impossible to please. They feel like their efforts to be good enough or do enough for God are never sufficient. But Hebrews 11 tells us clearly how people gain God’s approval: by faith. Hebrews describes faith as being sure of God’s promises—confident that they are worth looking forward to and living for. Faith is also believing that the one true God who made the world (not just some sort of “higher power”) exists. Hebrews 11 says there is something specific we need to believe about this God: “that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

God is not a stingy, hard-to-please tyrant or bully. He is a generous rewarder. He gives us the desire to go after him, and then he rewards us for our pursuit of him. What is the reward God gives us? He gives grace and forgiveness. He rewards us with the righteousness of Jesus in place of our failed attempts at being right with God. But the most prized reward he gives us is himself—in closer relationship and clearer understanding.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

What kinds of things do people usually have to do to get a reward?

Do you see God as difficult to please or as a generous giver? Why?

What does it mean to seek him, as Hebrews 11:6 tells us to do?