Living on Purpose – Do we care about what God wants?
Editor’s note: This is a reprint of a Bill Holland column that was published earlier this year.
By Bill Holland
Is God always happy?
Well, let me see, this is an unusual question, but I would say probably not.
Since He is not made of flesh we assume that He does not have emotions like us.
But, on the other hand, we read about His demonstrations of compassion and anger so I guess this is still up for debate.
It is my opinion that some things please Him and others cause Him disappointment and most of it is associated with the way people live.
So, what do you think makes Him happy?
Well, again we have the Scriptures, which reveal His thoughts and these explain His desires.
Remember, there was a time He became outraged when the people of Noah’s day were living like sinful barbarians and He brought a flood that destroyed the world except for eight people.
So, we can clearly see that when individuals follow sin instead of submitting to His voice this makes Him very upset.
Basically, He’s glad when we live for Him and He’s aggravated when we do whatever we want.
Here is a two-part question. Do you believe He is happy with you, and do you really care what He thinks about you?
Anyone can take the time and learn about God and what He expects from us.
Yes, there is a problem with the world’s lack of spiritual understanding but there is also a huge issue with people who realize what is right but arrogantly refuse to do it.
These individuals walk in the shadows and avoid God’s light on purpose because His holy truth exposes more than what they want to deal with.
They know deep down that He is not happy with them and yet they are content to live in denial — far away from anything that will cause feelings of guilt.
You see, the Bible was given to us so that we could understand right and wrong and how much God wants us to be good. He is also not shy about explaining the consequences that will happen when we choose to be bad.
One reason why it is so important to read His word (and exactly why many do not even open it) is that it empowers us to live up to God’s standards while eliminating our excuses.
Charles Stanley is quoted: “To discipline ourselves is to simply say no to our desires when they conflict with God’s will.”
With God being the creator and judge of all things, our soul being priceless, and eternity just a breath away, why are so few interested?
I am not necessarily a single-minded, hellfire and brimstone preacher, even though there is nothing wrong with presenting much-needed biblical truth, but my desire is to emphasize and relay the message of God’s great love.
He has a beautiful and wonderful plan for everyone but the problem is that many sadly do not care.
How can I make such a statement?
Look around; do people look interested in God to you?
The Lord desires to give us all we could ask or imagine but instead of us living for ourselves, He is calling us to live for Him.
Until we turn away from our selfish independence and realize that He created us and bought us with a great price, we will not really be concerned with our allegiance to Him.
How can we take our spiritual life seriously until we refuse to be controlled by our own will?
Good news!
We can be transformed into a new person with a new lifestyle when we ask Jesus to change our mind.
We realize that what and how much we know is the heart of the matter; as Luke Chapter 12 says, “To whom much is given, much is required.”
This means the more we discover about what God wants from us, the more responsibility we have to obey Him and the amount that He is pleased with us will be measured by how committed we are to His instructions.
Knowing His plan is one thing but demonstrating our knowledge is something completely different.
When we choose to take that first step of faith to live for Jesus we are accepting the basic fundamentals of salvation and can sincerely pray, “Lord, all things are possible with you. Please save me, renew my mind, fill me with your Spirit and whatever you tell me to do, may I react according to your will – not mine, amen.”
