Seeking God's Approval

God's intimacy is with the upright ones. Those blameless in their way are a pleasure to Him (Proverbs 3:32; 11:20). On the contrary, those who persist in offending God by stubbornly ignoring or defying His righteous feelings will shortly become the objects of His displeasure (2 Thess 1:6-10). Indeed, He will soon bring an end to all the wickedness so prevalent today (Psalm 37:9-11).

The Bible makes it very clear, however, that God does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). He would much rather display His affection for righteous people who love Him than express His displeasure upon those who choose to be irreformable. God finds pleasure not in the death of the wicked one, but in one turning back from his way and actually to live eternally (Ezekiel 33:11).

So no one needs to become the object of God's anger. God is very tender in affection and merciful (James 5:11). With full confidence in God's feelings, we can throw all our anxiety upon Him, because He cares for us. Be assured that those who make God's heart rejoice have the wonderful prospect of enjoying His approval and friendship. Hence, it is now more urgent than ever before to make sure of what is acceptable to the Lord (Ephesians 5:10).

Bro David Yelulani (Banket, Zimbabwe)