God is the Rewarder

God is many things to us, has different descriptors and character traits that are important to our relationship with Him.

In scripture He is known as our Healer, our Victory, our Righteousness, our Peace, El Shaddai, the All Sufficient One, and many other titles that describe His nature and Person towards His creation.

Wholehearted faith

For the person of faith, though, we should also remember always that He is the Rewarder of those who go after Him wholeheartedly.

But 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 diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6

Yes, so to please God we need to be people of faith. What does that mean? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Rom.10:17), therefore the faith he is talking about is in God, from God and of God.

The faith that pleases Him is first of all faith in Him. This faith comes by hearing the gospel, the good news that Jesus has paid the price of the sin that separated us from God and has made the way clear for us to return into relationship with God through faith.

God rewards this faith. We don’t seek the reward. We seek the Rewarder, but His name provides the evidence of His character in this regard.

Faith provides

Everything we have before us in terms of a relationship with Almighty God comes through what we believe and how we act on that belief.

Believing alone is not enough (James 2:17). Many people believe in God. Not all are saved, or following as disciples.

You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!

James 2:19

We have to put corresponding action to what we believe. We are not saved by works. We are saved by grace through faith, but our confirming works demonstrate that we are indeed people faith.

So, if I believe in Jesus Christ and make Him my Lord and Saviour, I then have an instruction to follow Him. I become a disciple of Christ. I live the way He instructs us in the Word of God.

I follow the principles of the Word and allow them first place in my life because I am with Him to allow Him first place in my life and He gives instructions in the Word on how to live that life. God’s Word has first place.

That includes allowing Him be a Rewarder. I don’t seek a reward. It is accorded through faith. It is a promise of God and we have seen it in the Word, that He is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

It is reward enough to be accounted worthy by Him to receive the gift of salvation, and along with it to be in right standing with God. Also to be in relationship with Him, and to be able to led by His Spirit in my life.

Our response

So how do I respond to this Word? Surely by two key things given in the scripture.

One, that it is impossible to please Him without faith, so I need to be a person of faith. How? By reading, studying, learning, and applying the Word to my life. I’m a New Testament believer, so I draw mostly from the New Covenant, with examples form the Old as an added guide.

Secondly I need to diligently seek Him. I do not need to seek a reward, even though I know He is the Rewarder of those who seek Him diligently. I simply continue to live a lifestyle in which I am constantly seeking Him, by digging into His Word to discover the truths that can become part of my life and make me more like Jesus in my attitude and character.

This will be, and should be, a lifetime’s work. None of us is absolutely like Jesus as we are today, but we are encouraged to be like Him by imitating God.

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Ephesians 5:1-2

How can we imitate God? By following His instructions in the Word. We seek God and we imitate God through His message to us in the New Testament.

And the rewards? There are many, beginning with salvation, eternal life, the gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s Word to us, and the many benefits that were given under the Old Covenant of grace, protection, deliverance, safety and healing.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Psalms 103:1-5

Keep on seeking God and living by faith in Him and the rewards will be apparent. We don’t even have to seek them, just Him.