What makes God smile?

Psalms 147:11 “The Lord delights in those who fear him, in those who hope in his mercy.”

We often forget that God also has emotions. He feels things very deeply. The Bible tells us that God gets sad, jealous and angry, and feels compassion, pity, sadness and sympathy, as well as happiness, joy and satisfaction. God loves, delights, is pleased, rejoices, enjoys and even laughs. And if he can laugh, he can cry. Anything that pleases God is called worship. – The Bible tells us to “worship him continually”, “praise him from sunrise to sunset”, hold a conversation with him continuously.

The Bible says in Ephesians 5:10 “proving what is pleasing to the Lord.” In other words, “Find out what will please Christ and then do it.” And wouldn’t you know that the Bible gives us a clear example of the kind of life that pleases God. The perfect example comes through the life of a man named Noah.

In the days of Noah, the entire world was morally bankrupt. They all lived for their own pleasure, not for God’s. God could not find anyone on earth interested in pleasing him, so he was sad. He regrets having made man. God was so displeased with the human race that he considered eliminating it. But there was a man who made God smile. The Bible says in Genesis 6:8 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Noah was a pleasure to God.

God said, “This man gives me pleasure. He makes me smile. I will start over with his family.” Because Noah pleased God, you and I are alive today. From his life we ​​learn the five acts of worship that make God smile.

1. GOD SMILE WHEN WE LOVE HIM SUPREMELY – Noah loved God more than anything else in the world, even when no one else loved him! “Noah was a just and perfect man in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”, Genesis 6: 9. Noah consistently followed the will of God and enjoyed a close relationship with him. This is what God wants from us, a relationship.

Jesus called it the greatest commandment. Matthew 22:37-38 “Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.”

2. GOD SMILES WHEN WE TRUST HIM COMPLETELY. The second reason Noah pleased God was because he trusted God, even when he didn’t make sense.

The Bible says in Hebrews 11:7 that “By faith Noah built a ship in the midst of dry land. He was warned about something he could not see, and he acted on what he was told… As a result , Noah intimated with God”,

There were three problems that could have caused Noah to doubt God.

Noah had never seen rain. — Noah lived hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean. — There was a problem of gathering all the animals and then taking care of them.

But Noah didn’t complain or make excuses. He completely trusted God, and that made God smile. -And she trusted him for 120 years.

Psalms 147:11 “The Lord delights in those who fear (trust) him, in those who hope in his mercy.”

3. GOD SMILES WHEN WE OBEY HIM WITH THE WHOLE HEART – Saving the animal population from a global flood required great attention to logistics and detail. Everything had to be done just as God prescribed. He gave very detailed instructions on the size, shape, and materials of the ark, as well as the number of animals to bring aboard. The Bible tells us Noah’s response in Genesis 22. “So Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” He did everything exactly as God commanded him. That is wholeheartedly. No wonder God smiled on Noah. John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

4. GOD SMILE WHEN WE CONTINUOUSLY PRAISE AND THANK HIM – Noah’s life pleased God, because he lived with a heart of praise and thanksgiving. Noah’s first act after surviving the Flood was to express his thanks to God by offering a sacrifice. Genesis 8:20 “And Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we do not offer animal sacrifices like Noah did. Instead, we are told to offer God “the sacrifice of praise” in Hebrews 13:15 and “the sacrifice of thanksgiving” in Psalm 116:17. We praise God for who he is and we thank him for what he has done.

Something amazing happens when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we give God pleasure, our own hearts are filled with joy!

5. GOD SMILES WHEN WE USE OUR SKILLS – God enjoys seeing every detail of your life, whether you are working, playing, resting or eating. You don’t miss a single move you make. The Bible tells us in Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way.”

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

God has a purpose for every living Christian. It is leading others to Christ. We often don’t realize that some of the best gifts God has given us are the things we love to do the most. We often think of those gifts as something God has blessed us with to bring joy and pleasure into our lives. While this is true, those gifts were also given to us to serve as a bridge to bring others to church and to Him. Leading others to Christ doesn’t have to be a struggle. It can be as simple as sharing “What you like to do” with others.

We have also received gifts through our tests. Everyone has or will encounter a great tragedy in their life. As Christians, when we find victory over these trials through faith in God, they too become gifts that can be used to comfort others and lead them to Christ. Almost every church has had a member who had an abortion, lost a loved one, or recovered from drugs or alcohol. And many have used these victories as a bridge to reach the unchurched.

“What a wonderful God we have. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of all mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our tribulations and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are in trouble, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort that God has given us” — 2 Corinthians 1:3,4.