Pleasing God through obedience

“As soon as Jesus was baptised, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’” Matthew 3:16
Throughout Jesus’ life, He lived to please the Father (John 8:29). We see this in today’s verse, concerning Jesus’ baptism. Recall how John was baptising at the Jordan River, and when Jesus came to be baptised, John tried to dissuade Him, saying, “I need to be baptised by You, and do You come to me?” (Matt. 3:14). But Jesus insisted, saying, “It is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). He was not baptised for repentance, as He had no sin to repent of; but He did it as an act of obedience to God, an act to validate John’s ministry, and an act for us to follow.
It was Jesus’ obedience to the Father that pleased God. It is the same with us today: nothing pleases God more than our obedience (see 1 Sam. 15:22). But note what happens next in Matthew’s gospel (and the other gospel accounts also): Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and faces temptations from the devil. The same thing can happen in our lives. When you are pleasing God, watch out for the enemy’s attack. Satan primarily attacks those who are living lives of righteousness, pleasing to God – because they are the most effective in the onslaught on his kingdom. This is no reason to stop striving to live a life pleasing to God, but just an assurance: when you face those attacks, there is a reason for them, and it is not something strange that is happening to you, because Jesus experienced it also. Are you pleasing God today through your obedience to His Word?