How Can I Please You?

Dogs work hard to please their owners.  It's what most dogs live for, from the moment they wake until they put their heads down at night.

Even when dogs are asked to do things they really don't want to do ("stop eating that cat stuff" "down!"), they still obey because more than anything, they want to please their Master.

(There are some who refuse to use the phrase "Master", but that might be another blog post, for when I'm feeling testy.)

Recently I had a conversation with someone regarding doing things we don't want to do.  Life seems to require us to do just as much stuff that we don't like as we do like.  In our culture, doing what we want - being completely sovereign - is an idol.  We have to go to work, eat healthy, exercise, drive within rules, etc.  Yet we balk at having to visit grandma, pick up our dirty socks, and be nice to strangers in line at the grocery store.

Yet doing what we do not want to do, what is contrary to our human nature, is just another discipline to shape our character.  When we follow what God says is good for us, even if we don't want to, we please Him.  If we are saved by faith in Jesus, we already please Him - we need not "do" anything, but there is much evidence in scripture that seem to imply that now and then, He may smile a little broader when we go out of our way to do difficult things.

What difficult thing are you avoiding today?  Is it having that tough conversation, even though it will invite conflict and loss of popularity?  Is it doing something that is out of your comfort zone.

My prayer this morning was that God will change my heart that all I do will be what pleases Him, and to ask for the courage to do it.  It's my prayer for you as well.