You Already Have What It Takes to Please God
- Henley Samuel
- May 6
- 6 min read
May 06, 2026
Here is a question I want you to sit with for a moment. If someone asked you right now, "Are you living a life that pleases God?" what would be the first thing to come to your mind?
For many of us, the honest answer is that our mind immediately races to a list. Did I read my Bible today? Did I pray long enough this morning? Did I make it to church every week? Did I give? Did I serve? And depending on how that mental checklist goes, we either feel confident or we feel quietly disqualified.
But what if I told you that list is not what pleases God? What if the very thing that pleases Him is something entirely different?
The Man Who Walked With God
The Bible introduces us to a remarkable man in Hebrews chapter 11. His name is Enoch. The Scripture says:
"By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: 'He could not be found, because God had taken him away.' For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God." Hebrews 11:5
Enoch lived 365 years. He walked with God for 300 of those years. And the testimony that followed him through his entire life was simply this: he was a man who pleased God.
Now here is what grabs my attention. That testimony did not come at the end of his life. The Scripture says he was commended as one who pleased God before he was taken. This was his living reputation. This is what people knew him for. Not a title he earned. Not a position he held. It was simply who he was known to be.
Faith Is a Coin With Two Sides
Right after Enoch's account, the Scripture lays out the principle that drove his entire life:
"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
This verse is like a coin. It has two sides. One side says: God exists. The other side says: God rewards those who seek Him.
Here is what I want you to understand. Almost every believer has no trouble with the first side. Ask any Christian, does God exist? They will raise their hand immediately. Does God have power to heal? Yes. Does He have power to provide? Yes. We believe He is able.
But the question that trips so many of us up is this: Does He reward me? Does He do it for me?
That is where the coin breaks. And the moment that second side is missing, the faith becomes incomplete. The devil himself believes that God exists. Even he trembles at that. But the faith that pleases God goes further. It says: I believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Not just anyone in general. Me. My family. My situation. He rewards me.
What Happens When You Step Out
Matthew 14 shows us a living picture of this. There was a storm on the water. The disciples were terrified. Then Jesus came walking on the water and said to them,
"Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid." Matthew 11:27
What happened next is extraordinary. Peter looked at Jesus and said:
"Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water." Matthew 14:28
And Jesus said one word. "Come."
That one word was enough. Peter stepped out of the boat. He walked on the water. In the middle of a storm. In circumstances that made no natural sense. This is what faith does. It enables you to do what the circumstances say is impossible. Everyone around you may say it cannot happen. The diagnosis says one thing. The report says another. But when you hear the word of God and receive it as your own, something activates on the inside that goes beyond every natural limitation.
But then watch what happened. The wind picked up. Peter looked at the waves. And the moment he did, he began to sink.
The Missing Side of the Coin
Why did Peter sink? He believed Jesus was there. That was not the problem. The problem was the second side of the coin. He began to question, "Will He do it for me? In this situation? Right now?"
The moment that question took root, he went down.
"Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?'" Matthew 14:31
The issue was never God's power. The issue was whether Peter believed God would reward him specifically, in that specific moment. Faith is not just a general belief that God is great. Faith says: God is great, and He is working on my behalf right now.
Romans puts it plainly:
"Everything that does not come from faith is sin." Romans 14:23
This is strong language. But it is telling us something vital. When we doubt that God rewards us specifically, we are not merely struggling. We are stepping out of the realm where God moves on our behalf.
Your Performance Is Not the Qualification
Here is what so many believers carry without realising it. They believe God answers prayer, but they quietly attach conditions to whether He answers theirs. They think: If I had prayed more. If I had been more consistent. If I had not failed in that area. As if their track record is what qualifies them to receive from God.
But the Scripture nowhere says that your performance is your qualification before God. It says that God rewards those who seek Him in faith. The seeking itself is the qualification. And the seeking is possible because of what He has already done, not because of what you have yet to accomplish.
Do you know what God thinks about you? He has you in His thoughts day and night. The plans He has for you are plans for good and not for harm. He is not sitting at a distance waiting to see if you earn His attention. He gave His own Son before you had done anything to deserve it.
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1
That substance is already yours. It does not depend on your morning routine. It does not depend on how many chapters you read. It depends on what God has already done, and whether you believe He will reward you specifically as you come to Him.
Enoch's whole life was built on this. He walked with God for 300 years not to earn a result. He walked because he genuinely believed God was present, attentive, and rewarding. And the result? God could not even let him die. He simply took him home.
Conclusion
The life that pleases God is not built on religious effort. It is built on faith, real faith, the kind that says: God is real, and He personally rewards those who seek Him. Not someone else. You. Today. Whatever your situation looks like. However incomplete your checklist feels. His rewards are not for the perfect. They are for the seeking.
Enoch's testimony can be your testimony. Not because of what you do, but because of who He is, and because you choose to believe that what He did was enough, and that it was done for you.
Reflect on This
When you think about whether God will answer your prayer or bless your life, do you find yourself placing conditions on His willingness to respond to you specifically? Where does that come from, and how might releasing that change the way you approach Him?
Enoch walked with God for 300 years and his entire testimony was that he pleased God. What one adjustment in your perspective about faith, not your behaviour, could shift the way you relate to God starting today?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I declare that You are real and that You are a rewarder of those who seek You. I receive that reward as mine today. Not because I have earned it, not because my record is clean, but because You are faithful and Your promises do not depend on my performance. I choose to believe that You are working on my behalf right now, in my family, in my health, in every area where I have been afraid to trust. I release my doubt and I step out like Peter, knowing that Your hand is already stretched out to hold me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Key Takeaways
Pleasing God is not achieved through religious performance; it is activated through faith that believes He both exists and rewards those who seek Him.
Faith is a two-sided reality: it must include both the belief that God is able and the belief that He will personally reward you.
Circumstances like storms, impossible situations, and unanswered questions are not signs that God has stepped away; they are the very context in which faith is called to act.
The moment we shift focus from God's faithfulness to our own track record, faith loses its power to operate in our lives.
God's plans for you are only for good; He thinks of you day and night, and His rewards are for those who seek Him, not those who qualify themselves.
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To dive deeper into this powerful message, watch the full sermon on our YouTube video below.
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