Who Are We Really Trying to Please | Mornings with Mico

Good people, what's going on? My name is Meeko. I'm the prison director here at Crossroads Church and welcome to my one-on-one time with God today, man. All that simply is, just to kind of be clear, it's just simply me reading the scripture and what God reveals to me, I then share with you. So with no further ado, let's dive in. Today we're going to be in the book of Genesis. I'm in chapter 28, starting at verse 6, and it says, Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there. And that when he blessed him, he commanded him, do not marry a Canaanite woman. And that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father, Isaac. So he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael. So really quick, give some context, Esau and Jacob were brothers. Their father and mother is Isaac and Rebecca. And Esau kind of caught wind that Jacob was going to Paddan Aram, that's actually where Rebecca is from, to find a wife because it was displeasing for their father, Isaac, for them to marry Canaanite women in the land in which they were in. So once Esau caught wind of that, he then went to Ishmael, which is Isaac's brother, to find a woman from his land. And he married his brother's daughter, Mahalath. So yeah, really quick. So that's the verse. And this isn't probably one of those verses you're going to hear a sermon on or you're going to see like on a coffee mug or, you know, a lot. But whenever I read scriptures, it's like there's really no method to like what stands out to me and what God is revealing to me. But in this verse, what I saw here, what I believe God was revealing to me was I see Esau in his posture.

I see Esau, the brother of Jacob, who simply caught wind of some instruction that their father and mother gave to his brother. And when Esau caught wind that it was displeasing for their father, Isaac, to their father, Isaac, for them to marry Canaanite women, he instantly went to his brother, his father's brother, Ishmael's land to marry a woman there. And I'm like, wow, God, like this is this man is so like seeking after being pleasing to his dad that just catching wind of this, he completely shifted to trajectory of his life. Like a marriage that is a lifelong covenant. And once he caught wind that marrying Canaanite women was displeasing, like he was just that willing to dedicate his life to doing something that he thought would be pleasing to his father. What that spoke to me is like, man, God, like how much am I like that with you, right? Or how much am I not like that with you would probably be the better question. What I believe God was revealing to me was just simply like Esau's posture in his desire to do what was pleasing to his dad. And for me, these type of moments, it's like they really shaped my prayer life because it's like, okay, as I'm seeing this, whenever we read scripture, it's either revealing something about God to us or for me, it's revealing like how we're supposed to respond to God. And so as I'm looking at this, I'm like, God, give me a heart that desires to do what's pleasing to you the way that Esau has a desire to do what's pleasing to his father. And that's actually been something that I've been chewing on for a while. It's a daily prayer, Lord, give me a heart that wants to do what's pleasing to you that at the idea of just catching at this idea, maybe that this thing may be pleasing to you, I'm willing to just dive into it, right? And I don't know where you are in your walk with God and where you are in your willingness, right? But one, I want to tell you this, that that prayer, it's actually biblical, right? In Philippians 2.13, this is probably one of my most, this is probably one of those verses I quote more than any verse in the Bible, because it's just, for me, it's like,

it's really like shaped. my heart, my thinking, and my faith walk. And in Philippians 2.13, something along the lines of God is doing a good work in us to give us the desire and the ability to do what pleases him. So that desire to do what pleases him, it doesn't even necessarily have to start with us. It's literally something that we can go to God and ask him, Lord, give me a desire to do what's even pleasing to you. Give me the ability to do what's pleasing to you. And I just encourage you, you know, on your journey, on this walk, that maybe you're not in a space where you just desire to do whatever is pleasing to God, where you may catch wind of something that's pleasing to God, and you just have a desire to run after. Maybe you're not, right? I can't say that I'm fully there myself. But I just want to encourage you, man, that one, you don't have to start with that desire. We can pray for that. And two, I just challenge you to actually lean into that prayer. To pray to God and ask him to give us the heart to do what's pleasing to him, to let these sort of verses shape our prayer life. And really kind of shift the trajectory of our life and help us to walk more closely in alignment with God's will for us. So I'll pray that for us really quick and call it a day. Lord, thank you for this time that we had together. Thank you just for your word and the truth that is found in it, that we can lean on, that we can trust. And may it just continue to shape us. Lord, make the simple things in your word stand out to us in a way that really opens us up to know you more. And we pray for just a willing heart. We lean into you, Lord, and we ask you to just do a work in our heart. Make us more willing, Father, to be obedient. And not begrudgingly, Lord, we ask that you increase the desire in our heart for us to be obedient, as well as the ability for us to be obedient. I'm proud to see your son, Jesus' name. Amen.