“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

God not only rewards those who earnestly seek him but we must expect that he will. This isn’t the completely altruistic (unselfish) attitude we might think God wants us to have. We must believe we are rewarded for seeking God.

In the book of Job, Satan challenges God with the question, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” (Job 1:9) Satan suggests Job only honours the Lord for the rewards God provides. He believes that Job is only interested in God for what he can get out of the relationship. Ultimately Satan was proved wrong.

On one hand, we expect God to reward us but on the other, we don’t honour God simply for those rewards. To illustrate this balance it’s helpful to remember that Jesus told us to call God our Father. At Christmas, many of us spend time with our parents, because of who they are, but probably we also expected they will bless us with a gift. We would visit them regardless of whether they gave us a gift or not but it is a joy to receive from them.

Likewise, God wants to bless us but often we miss his blessings because we don’t expect them or look out for them. God’s blessings come in many ways—through the beauty of nature, through amazing coincidences that only he could have orchestrated, through the blessing of another person.

Let’s acknowledge God is our Rewarder and be on the lookout for those blessings that only he could have provided.