Faith Pleases God
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
Faith is not pretending something is true when it is not.
That misunderstanding has done enormous damage. It turns faith into a kind of determined self-deception, and it means that when reality intrudes, faith appears to have failed.
Biblical faith is something far sturdier: confidence in the character and Word of God. It says, “I cannot see the whole picture yet, but I trust the One who does.”
Hebrews says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Begin with the definition the chapter opens with, in verse 1: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” The Greek word translated confidence is hupostasis, which literally means that which stands under, a foundation or substance. It was used in commercial documents for a title deed. Faith is not wishful thinking; it is the substance underneath a hope.
Now look at the two things Hebrews says anyone approaching God must believe.
First, “that he exists.” That is the minimum, and it is not trivial; it means treating God as real rather than theoretical. A great deal of practical atheism survives inside religious people who would never deny God’s existence but who plan, worry and decide as though He were not there.
Second, “that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” The Greek ekzeteo means to seek out diligently, to search for. This is not casual interest. And note the assumption behind it: God is not indifferent to being sought. He responds. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Why does faith please God? Because faith takes God at His word, and that honours Him as truthful. To refuse to believe someone trustworthy is an insult; to trust them is a form of respect. Faith says: You are reliable, and I am staking something on it.
Look at Abraham, whom this chapter uses as the model. Romans 4:20-21 says he “did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Note the object carefully: what He had promised. Abraham’s confidence was not in an outcome he had generated; it was in a specific word God had spoken to him.
George Müller cared for more than ten thousand orphans in Bristol during the nineteenth century. He made it his practice never to ask anyone for money, but to tell the needs to God alone, and he kept careful records of how the answers came. His aim was not to show how much faith he had. He wanted people to see that God is real and can be trusted.
That distinction is where we need real balance, and it is where much confusion enters.
Faith is not forcing God to fulfil our personal script. We do not invent a promise, attach God’s name to it, and then call the resulting determination “faith.” That is presumption, and when it collapses people often blame God or conclude that faith does not work.
Genuine faith does three things. It finds what God has actually said. It understands that in context, asking who it was spoken to and whether there are conditions attached. And it then builds confidence on God Himself rather than on the sentence in isolation.
Some promises are unconditional and universal: He will never leave you nor forsake you; if you confess your sins He will forgive; nothing can separate you from His love in Christ. Stand on those without hesitation. Others were spoken to particular people in particular situations, and treating them as personal guarantees produces disappointment that is not God’s fault.
A second caution, because the opposite error is equally common. The careful reader can become so anxious about presumption that they stop asking boldly altogether. That is not maturity. Jesus told us to ask, seek and knock, and Hebrews 11 celebrates people who attempted extraordinary things on the strength of God’s word. Careful faith is still faith, and it should still be audacious.
And read the whole chapter, because Hebrews 11 refuses to give us a tidy picture. Verses 33 to 35 describe those who through faith “shut the mouths of lions” and “escaped the edge of the sword.” Then verse 35 turns: “Others were tortured and refused to be released.” Same chapter, same faith, opposite outcomes, and both commended. Verse 39 says they “did not receive what had been promised” in their lifetime.
So faith is not a technique for guaranteeing outcomes. It is trust in a Person whose timing and wisdom exceed our own.
Perhaps you are facing uncertainty this morning. You do not know how a door will open, how a need will be met, or how a situation will resolve. You may not have an answer yet. You can still have faith, because faith was never dependent on having the answer.
So keep praying. Keep obeying. Keep seeking. Trust God enough to move when He says move and to wait when He says wait, and recognise that both require the same trust.
One more thing about faith, because Hebrews 11 defines it partly by what it does with time.
Every figure in that chapter acted on something not yet visible. Noah built for a flood nobody had seen. Abraham left for a place he could not name. Moses chose disgrace over Egypt’s treasures because “he was looking ahead to his reward” (11:26).
Faith, in other words, is largely a matter of which timeframe governs your decisions. Unbelief is short-sighted, not merely doubtful; it treats the present as the only real thing.
So when you face a decision today, ask which horizon you are deciding by. Faith regularly looks foolish over five years and obvious over fifty.
You may not know what today will bring, but you know the God who goes with you. Trust Him, seek Him, and let faith shape your next step.
Reflection
1. Is there something you have been calling faith that is honestly your own preferred outcome? What has God actually said about it?
2. Where has caution about presumption quietly become an excuse to stop asking boldly?
Prayer
Father, thank You that faith is not pretending but trusting the One who is entirely reliable. Forgive me for the times I have attached Your name to my own script and called it faith, and forgive me equally for the times I have stopped asking boldly at all. Teach me to find what You have actually said, to understand it rightly, and to build my confidence on You rather than on my certainty. Where I am facing uncertainty today, help me to keep praying, keep obeying and keep seeking. You reward those who earnestly seek You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Declaration
Faith takes God at His word. I do not control tomorrow, but I know the God who goes with me into it.
Pastor Ras
All Nations Community Church
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