The title, A Pleasing Walk, may bring thoughts of a stroll through an area where nature abounds in beauty. It is pleasing to the eyes and the ears. You hear sounds of nature and happiness. The birds are singing. and in the distance, you hear children laughing and playing. We know the walk will do us good both physically and mentally. These are the things we think about in this context, but what about a walk that pleases the Lord? Is your walk pleasing to the Lord, or are there things along your path that need to change?
In I Thessalonians 4:1 Paul uses the word beseech, which means to urge or beg someone in a matter. He is speaking to the believers in Thessalonica. He has been gone from them for some time and is concerned about their spiritual well-being. He desires to encourage them to walk in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord.
He reminds them of the commandments he had given them when the church was established. He wants them to embrace their sanctification. This is the process of becoming more like Jesus. It is a process that is not complete until we enter Heaven, but one we must continue to progress in until then. This is God’s will for them and for everyone who calls on the name of Jesus for salvation.
He begins to remind them of things to abstain from if they are to please God. He first mentions fornication. This is a sexual sin between two people who are not married to each other. It includes adultery and sin between two single people. It includes all sexual sins. In verse 4 he reminds them they should know how to live the Christian life in a way that would bring honor to God. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul taught these same principles to the church at Corinth. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Paul was at Corinth when he wrote to the church at Thessalonica. He was surrounded by sexual immorality. The church at Corinth was not yet established but Paul already knew what the city was known for. This warning is for us also. It is never more needed than it is today. Sexual sins are paraded all around us and we become desensitized to the depravity of it. The media is constantly portraying it as normal and we are called narrow-minded when we don’t agree. We must understand that if we please God others will negatively think of us because it exposes their lifestyle as wrong. Nobody wants to be wrong.
I Thessalonians 4:1-5 “Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:”
God’s will for us is to live a life seeking to be holy as He is holy. A life that is pleasing to Him is a life that desires Him more than the things of the world. It is a life that enjoys spending time with Him alone. It is a life that gives Him the glory for all good things. It is a life that has a single focus, and that is to please Him. When this is our focus, everything will fall into place and you will have peace and joy in your heart no matter what is going on around you.
I Peter 1:16 “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
God will give us opportunities to show that He is the one we want to please. He will test us, just as He did Abraham in Genesis 22:12 “And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” but the test also reveals to us what is truly in our hearts.
Deuteronomy 13:3 “Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God tests you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
It is time to examine our hearts. How much do you want to please Him? It will be evident if you look at your day and think about your actions and reactions. It will be evident if you analyze the time you spent with Him. While we can all do better, for some it may mean it is time for a radical change in our behavior and our thinking. Is your daily walk pleasing to Him?
