Hebrews 11:6 declares, “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” This tells us that good deeds do not bring the Lord pleasure in themselves. The only thing He truly wants is for us to rely on Him in confidence to provide us abundant life. Jesus' words in John 6:29 mirror this reality, reading, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” In other words, the only thing we can do to experience the Father's approval is to put more stock in Christ's all-sufficient sacrifice.

     Some may respond, “Yes, but true faith in Christ will always produce righteous works.” This is an accurate statement (see James 2:22). Nevertheless, faith is not defined by works themselves. Works are only the by-product of complete trust in Christ's effort to help us. Only He can cause anything genuinely great to happen in our lives. Every deeply positive action we make comes “'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Therefore, we need to learn how to access His rewarding presence on a continual basis!

     The Scriptures show that it is actually impossible to serve God without His empowerment and affirmation. If we could do so, then we would not need grace and the Law of the Old Covenant would be a valid means to salvation. This is why it is so important that we intentionally draw more down from Heaven as we commune with our Maker. He is our source, and He takes immense delight in giving us an endless supply of gifts!

     When Martha was complaining to Jesus that her sister Mary was just resting at His feet listening to Him (instead of being active to serve Him), He responded, “but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). Our Messiah was making it obvious that the only thing that has value in life is when we turn to Him so that He can dote His affection on us and share His generous heart with our own. It makes all the difference in the world to simply consume the “bread” He has for us.

     Even the First Commandment (to love God whole-heartedly) cannot be followed unless the primary focus of our relationship with God is receptive. “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). We have to make a practice of taking time to allow our Daddy to love on us, if ever we want to be able to respond to Him with love. This is His strongest desire.

     I encourage you, take more from Yahweh now than ever before! It will give you fulfillment, and it will surely make Him smile as well. Plus, it is the only way to obey Matthew 10:8, “Freely you received, freely give.”