The Search for Pleasure, Part III

   In the last post we discovered that it gives God pleasure  when people come to know, believe in, and trust in Him. They then become His children. He loves the whole world, but the whole world is not comprised of His children. (John 1:12) It is we, His children, who give Him pleasure by our very existence.

  Today we stop on our journey and ponder Ephesians 5:9-10 (Amp)
“...for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord [and letting your lifestyles be examples of what is most acceptable to Him—your behavior expressing gratitude to God for your salvation.]”*

   So it seems that our journey, itself, is scriptural. That makes me happy. We must be moving in the right direction! Here’s another verse, from Romans 12:1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.”

   Giving ourselves completely over to Him pleases Him, including those areas we’ve been holding back.  At first, many of us are afraid of what He’ll ask of us.  However, we’re not entrusting our whole selves ( body, soul, and spirit) to another human. [Jesus knew better than to do that (John 2:24-25).] We’re entrusting ourselves to the One Who created us and loves us best, the one who knows every thought we have, every word we think, every fear we try to hide, and every desire of our heart. As I stated in “Used,” we are never expendable in His eyes. Our fears of what He’ll call us to are ungrounded. He understands them, but it makes Him happy when we overcome them with His help. “Perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18)

   Let’s agree together to cast off those fears of offering ourselves completely to Him, through a greater trust in Him. Based on the Scriptures we’ve addressed so far, we’ll make Him doubly happy. Shall we go for triple in the days ahead?

   
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*In case you’re not familiar with the Amplified Bible, additions in parentheses are an expansion of the meaning of the original word in the Greek, like using synnyms to better understand the meaning. Sections in brackets are the tranlator’s ‘justified, clarifying’ additions as best understood by both the vocabulary and the larger context.