And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
–Hebrews 11:6
What is it about faith that is pleasing to God?
We can imagine a family of four brothers who have gone out for a kayak trip on a river with their father. A mishap has separated them from their dad and they find themselves on an island, without their boats. They do not know where they are or how to get back home.
One of the brothers asks, “What are we going to do?”
They are silent as the weight of the question presses upon their hearts. And then one of the brothers says with absolute confidence, “Dad is going to come.”
What would be the father’s response if he could hear his son at that moment, if he knew the confidence, the expectation which his boy had in him? Would not that Father move heaven and earth for him, would he not do all in his power not to disappoint that boy’s loving confidence?
When we have faith in God, when we know him as sons and rely upon him as sons, we are like that boy. We believe in our hearts that our Father will not fail us, that he will break through every barrier and hindrance to rescue us. Such confidence knows that he will not allows us to slip through his fingers and that he is mindful of us, that he already has and is breaking down everything that stands in the way.
Such a love moves the Father because it is fixed upon him. It is from him. And it calls Heaven down to Earth.
Perhaps that is why I love that moment in The Mysterious Benedict Society when Kate Wetherall (Kate the Great Weather Machine) hurdles over and past every barrier to Reynard and Sticky, with Constance on her back to boot.
When God hears his children call upon him, he is already on the move (Is. 65:24). He is the lion of Judah and we are his cubs.
Same & Other 