Can I Really Please God? (Proverbs 16:7)
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Proverbs 16:7
When a man's ways please the Lord,
he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
This verse answers a question we’ve all asked ourselves at one point or another in our lives, whether verbatim or not — and that's:
“Can I really please God?”
“Can I please God?” — that’s the question.
We ask it because, let’s be honest, sometimes it feels impossible. After all, God is holy. He is definitively other than us. He’s dazzling, He’s untouchable. And we? We’re dust. Flawed. Still learning how to pray without our minds wandering, and I bet by this point your mind might’ve already wandered off!
But the answer here, in this short, stunning Proverb, is clear:
Yes!
It is possible for the life of a Christian to please God. Not impress Him. Not manipulate Him. But please Him.
I’m tempted to stop right there. Because if that truth grabs your heart — really grabs it — it’ll change everything.
The God of all creation delights in you. He notices your obedience.
He feels joy when you walk in His ways.
And you know what? Isn’t that one of our deepest desires now as Christians?
Not just to be forgiven — but to be pleasing. To live in such a way that our lives become a thank-you note to the One who saved us. To serve Him. To present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable — which, Paul says, is our spiritual worship.
But on top of that, here’s where it gets really practical. A life that pleases God doesn’t just echo in heaven — it reverberates on earth. Proverbs says that when our ways please the Lord, He can make even our enemies be at peace with us.
That’s wild. “He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
Only God can do that.
Only God can take a battlefield and turn it into a garden.
Only God can make a wolf lie down with a lamb.
Only God can soften hearts, open closed doors, and make a cynical coworker say, “Hey... I respect you.”
I think of stories I’ve heard — maybe you’ve lived one — where someone was mocked or mistreated for their faith, but over time, through gentleness, integrity, and prayer, the relationship changed. An enemy became a listener. Or even a friend.
That’s what God does when we walk in His ways.
It’s not just behavioral — it’s spiritual. The aroma of Christ lingers on a life that pleases God. And even enemies catch a whiff.
But this verse finds its greatest fulfillment in Jesus. Jesus is the Son whose ways always pleased the Father (John 8:29). And through Him, God reconciled His enemies — us! — to Himself. The cross is the battlefield where enemies of God were made sons and daughters.
Isn’t that cool? The verse finds its fullest expression in Christ.
So now, because of Jesus, we don’t strive to please God in our own strength.
We live through Christ. We abide in Him. And His life — His pleasing, perfect life — becomes our offering.
Let’s just sit in the fact that we can please God, and let’s praise Him for the work of Christ today.
