There was always a feeling of anxiousness going back to school. That first day was always rough. Sometimes I’d hear rumors of how hard my homeroom teacher was going to be and stories from other students the nightmare that homeroom class was for them the year before.

It was always nice to be a little early and see some old friends and kids I hadn’t seen all summer, for a brief moment I would forget about being anxious. Then the bell would ring and all the students would walk into their classrooms. I’d be anticipating the teacher walking in or if the teacher was already there, I’d be accessing his or her mood.

I’d was always afraid that I would accidentally break a rule, make the teacher mad and send me to the principal’s office get detention and then when I got home, be reprimanded again. But isn’t that just like us humans to catastrophize everything, even as kids.

My goal was to do well in school, make my teacher and parents happy, make some friends and have some fun. But I still had this fear and worry I would do something wrong. I didn’t want to make my teacher mad or break a rule. I lived in fear those first few days of a new school year.

As a Christian, now, all I want to do is love God and obey His word. But I have to admit if I have the wrong perspective, I can live in fear of God. We are to have a reverent fear, an awe of God. Proverbs 1:7 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” I do have a reverent fear of God. He is in control, He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. He is sovereign and righteous. Jeremiah 32:17 – “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”

All I want to do is please God, every day. But I know I am a sinner and I can’t be perfect. God sacrificed His Son to die for us and pay the penalty of sin, so that we can live with Him forever in eternity. Now if someone saved me from a burning building, rescued my from a sinking ship, whatever, I would be forever grateful to that person. I would welcome that person into my life as part of my family, I would stay in contact and give back however I could. The same is for me with God. He saved me from death and gave me eternal life and all I had to do was accept Him and receive the gift of salvation. He is my life, I stay in constant contact and try to give back when I can however I can.

So how do I please God? What can I do to make Him happy? After all it’s only His approval I seek. It’s only His approval that matters. Like the first day of school, I live in awe of God and sovereignty. Unlike the first day of school, I don’t have any anxiety about making a mistake or making God mad. But I began to think, what does make God happy? What do I do to please Him?

I want to obey His word, His commandments. God gave us His word, the Bible. It contains everything we need to know about Him and how to live for Him. But what is that exactly?

The Ten Commandments were the first set of guidelines to live by. After Jesus came to the earth, He narrowed those down to two. Matthew 22:37-40, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.“ Ok so there’s two. That’s not all.
Here are some other things I have found.

Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Outside of the fact God is telling us not to be anxious (Do not be anxious, I believe that is in command form, He’s not suggesting, He’s telling us not to be anxious. Easier said than done, that’s a discussion for another time). So God wants us to communicate with Him about everything always.

Hebrews 11:6 – “ And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” and faith cometh by hearing and hearing the word of God, Romans 10:17

1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “Pray without ceasing.” Just exactly what that means. But prayer and talking to God isn’t always bowing our heads and folding our hands. (Another discussion for anther time).

1 Peter 4:9 – “Be hospitable to one another without complaint.” Being hospitable, that’s easy, without complaint, not always easy.

Proverbs 3:9 – “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;” Your wealth may not be thousands of dollars in the bank. God just wants you give back and mange what He has given you.

James 4:8 – “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Romans 14:17-18 – “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

There are sooooo many more ways in which we can please God and this post is getting long. What other ways, things can you find in the Bible that make God happy? Leave a comment. To be continued.