Pleasing God

It was John 9:29 that caught my attention today:

And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.

There is so much that is rich in this verse!

"He who sent Me is with Me." There is a lot of encouragement in this word from Jesus. He is speaking about himself, but we can confidently apply this to ourselves as well. If we are faithful, if we are following after Jesus, this promise is for us. Remember Matthew 28:20: ". . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." He is with us! He is with us in the good and the bad. He is with us at church and at home. He is with us in class and at work. He is with us in grief and in great joy. He is with us among our friends and among our enemies. He is with us!

And just in case we need further encouragement, Jesus phrases the same promise a slightly different way: "He has not left Me alone."

There are times when being alone can be a wholesome and refreshing thing. But there is a difference between being alone and feeling along. Feeling alone can be a soul-sucking, scary feeling. It robs our hope and our joy. The present and future seem dark.

But hear Jesus' words again: He has not left me alone!

This is hope and light! This is strength and comfort! We are not alone! He is with us. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me" (Ps. 23:4).

This is a verse filled with good news. He is with us. We are not alone. And the courage and the inspiration this brings to our lives can be translated into something good and positive. Knowing His presence and His enabling power, we can act and think and speak in ways that please Him.

As I read this verse, the first thing that came to mind was a quote from Toyohiko Kagawa:

I read in a book that a man called Christ went about doing good. It distresses me that I am so easily satisfied with just going about. 

 It distresses me that I give so little thought to what pleases God and so much thought to what pleases myself. Jesus points the way! He knew He was not alone, and that knowledge worked its way into his words and his actions so that all that he did pleased the Father.

May the sure knowledge of God's presence work its way into all of our thoughts, words, and actions today!