Giving God Pleasure
Scripture Reading: Matthew 3:13–17
“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” Matthew 3:17.
Giving God Pleasure
Father God, we ask in Jesus’ name that you give us the grace to give you pleasure, for your Word says clearly that you created all things for your pleasure. We pray that you will be able to say about our lives, “I am well pleased.”
“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so for now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered Him. And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straight way out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” Matthew 3:13–17.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if God said to you, “This is my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased?” When God says this, He is pleased with who you are inside. Psalm 45:13 says, “The king’s daughter is all glorious within.” I pray that God will put glory within us today and that this glory will cause us to have humility. In this passage we see Jesus’ humility. He came to be baptized because He understood the value of righteousness.
Decorated in God’s glory, He humbled Himself in order to fulfill all righteousness. God marveled that His Son had humbled Himself and allowed John to baptize Him.
God was pleased with His Son and proclaimed it. Moreover, He pronounced that Jesus was His beloved Son. When God calls you “beloved,” He means you are wearing His love, behaving His love. It is possible to have love in your heart but not act it out. God looked at Jesus and saw the act of humility that was based on love for God. God also called Him “Son.” Humility causes us to behave like children of God. Many of us are suffering because we act like adults of God who know it all. God is saying, “Come and be a child again and I will lead you; I’ll be your Father.” After making the pronouncement, God made provision for His Son. He received the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to fulfill His ministry, His destiny. It is clear that pleasing God brings about a proclamation, a pronouncement, and provision.
Let us now examine the life of Solomon. In 1 Kings 3, Solomon had just been made king and had given sacrifices to God. God appreciates sacrifices, but humility excites Him. When God offered to bless Solomon with whatever he desired, Solomon in verses 5–9, analyzed his humble state and finally said, “Lord, you’ve made me king over such great people.” If you are familiar with the story of the Israelites, you know they were not that great; they were extremely stubborn. But Solomon was humble. He requested a heart that would understand these people to facilitate righteous rule. God got excited. God looked at him and said, “You’re a king, yet you didn’t ask for the lives of your enemies. You didn’t ask for riches. Instead, you want me to give you an understanding heart?” This pleased God and He blessed Solomon with wisdom and understanding beyond measure.
These were the attributes necessary to fulfill his destiny. Solomon lacked the wisdom, experience, or the look that Adonijah, his brother had. Not only did God’s gift bring him wisdom, but it also brought him fame. The Bible says Solomon became famous for his wisdom and wealth. It also says He had “largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore,” 1 Kings 4:29. For you to be generous, you must have enough to give away. Just having enough for yourself is not good enough, but being blessed enough to be a blessing is another dimension. This cannot happen except God sees in you what gives Him pleasure. While faith, sacrifices, and worship please God, the number one thing that gives God pleasure is humility.
Can you imagine the Lord Jesus without the power of the open heavens? Can you imagine the life Solomon would have lived without wisdom? God gave them everything they needed when they gave Him pleasure. I pray that God will give you the grace to appreciate the need to give Him pleasure in the name of Jesus.
Prayer Points:
Father God, we pray that you will give us the grace of humility today because it will bring forth the other attributes that will cause us to fulfill our destiny in Jesus’ name.
