WHAT MAKES GOD SMILE?
By Oluwatoyosi Adegunle
Edited by Bibi Babatunde-Ikotun
Your imagination is a blessing from God to picture beautiful things. Have you ever imagined God smiling? I have, and it is absolutely beautiful! Try it out, close your eyes, think about it and picture it, It's beautiful, right? God smiles because he's pleased with us. He is just so mindful of us. Check out Psalms 8: 4- 8 (NIV):
4What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?[c]
5 You have made them[d] a little lower than the angels[e]
and crowned them[f] with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their[g] feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
When you stop to think of everything God has done to make you a believer, don't you just stand in awe of Him? He came down to die for your sins even when you hated Him. He gave you eternal life and free access to heaven.
Imagine this scenario; you were about to be thrown into a horrible prison for owing money that you couldn't payback and a stranger came in and overpaid for your debt. You owed 20 thousand and the stranger paid 200 million. Answer me this, will you ever have to be begged or cajoled to please this stranger that delivered you from a prison that you could have died in? I'll answer for myself and my answer is ABSOLUTELY NO!!!!
God dying for your sins is what the stranger pretty much did in the above scenario for you. Therefore, pleasing God is the first purpose of your life as a believer. He has saved you, the least you can is please Him forever. It is important to discover and learn how to please and honour God, and you can only know this through constant fellowship with God. Let's assume that you have a friend that you really like and this friendship lacks communication, intimacy, honesty and sincerity, and you don't know what your friend likes or dislikes, sooner or later, this friendship will crumble simply because you both don't have the knowledge of your make-up.
In my walk with God, I have been able to discover for myself through fellowship with the word, and the spirit, some of the things we can do to make God smile:
God smiles when we love up on Him
1 John 4:18-19(NIV) There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love. 19We love because He first loved us.
God is so in love with you. He wants you to spend time with Him, say sweet things to Him. He wants to know how you feel about Him in words and action. Tell Him you love Him over and over and over again. Whatever way you can show you love God, take advantage of it. Let Him know that He is number one always, nothing should take His space. Make sure God owns the largest acre of land in your heart.
God smiles when we obey him wholeheartedly, and completely
1 Samuel 15:22 (NLT) But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
God prefers our obedience to offerings and other material things. Partial obedience is still disobedience. Honour God and chose to obey him completely. Not because you are afraid of the punishment of sin because we know that He has dealt with sin once and for all and bore the punishment on our behalf but because we love to obey He who has given His life for us.
God smiles when we trust him completely
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight
When you know for a fact that God is always in charge of your life and fully responsible for you, He smiles. He loves it when you are not moved by the situations around you as you fully rely on Him as your source. What is that situation you're going through? What is making you apply human knowledge rather than leaning on your daddy? Be still and know that God is in charge.
God smiles when we are thankful
“God smiles when we praise and thank Him continually. Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God loves it, too. An amazing thing happens when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy.” ― William Law
God smiles when we use our abilities, gifts or talents he has blessed us with
God cares about every aspect of your life and he wants to see you fulfil His purpose for you. When He sees you use your talents and gifts, it makes Him smile because you are being a good steward and walking towards His purpose for you. He wants you to achieve greatness to the maximum with all resources he has blessed you with.
God's love for us is unconditional, which means that even when you don't do any of the things stated above or you don't do all/more, God still cares, and love you.
1 John 4:19 (NIV) says We love because he first loved us.
All that we say or do has now become a response to what God has said and done. We don't do to receive from God or earn His love more. We do because He has done and outdone us. What do we want to do that can pass what He has done? Nothing! When you live and dwell in the light of eternity and true purpose of living, your focus will change from "How much pleasure am I getting out of life?", to "How much pleasure is God getting out of my life? "
About the guest author
My name is Oluwatoyosi Adegunle. I am a 22-year-old Vlogger, Writer, Presenter, Hairstylist, and Social media manager, living in the city of Lagos, Nigeria.
I love talking about God, hairstyling, entrepreneur and career growth. I’m passionate about having relatable conversations about Christianity with people, and also lead people to God with my Christ-influenced lifestyle, and my spiritual experiences and inspiration.
You can connect with me via email here.
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