Without Faith It Is Impossible to Please God

Hebrews 11:5-6 (NRSV)

Our relationship with God is rooted and grounded in faith. “We walk by faith, not by sight.” We are not saved by the things that we see for they are temporary. We are saved by those things that are not seen – those things that are eternal. That’s why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen (2 Corinthians 4:18). Isaiah says that the grass withers, and the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever (Isaiah 40:8).

Enoch is an example of one who walked confidently and steadfastly with God. His relationship with God spanned a 300-year period. As he walked with God every day, I can imagine that he shared much with the Father – many happy times and sad times, many successes and failures, many times of peace and times of trouble, and etc. No matter what the circumstances were, Enoch didn’t break his faith-stride; he continued to walk with God. His living by faith was a testimony that even before he was taken to heaven, that he had walked with God and pleased Him. It was by faith that Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and “he was not found, because God had taken him” (v. 5).

 Just as Enoch walked by faith and pleased God, so must believers today. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently seek him” (v. 6). The promise is that if we seek for Him with all our heart, we will find Him. So not only is faith a necessity, but it is the only means of pleasing Him. He is a jealous God, and it’s all about Him, the object of our faith.