It pleases God when his people choose to live by faith, not by sight. And really those are our only choices; and only one pleases God.
Unfortunately, most people base their lives on what they can see. It is far less common to live based on what you cannot see — yet this is the way a Christian is supposed to live. And it has always been that way.
No one has even seen God. No one has seen the Holy Spirit, Jesus, any of the apostles, heaven or hell, Satan, or any of the other people in the Bible. Yet Christians are convinced of these truths. Why? Because the evidence of these things and these people are also largely unseen — a changed life or a new hearts. So we live by faith, not by sight. This is the way believers have always lived — and this the sort of life that pleases God.
What sort of life do I live? Do I live by faith or by sight?
Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.
—Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee has a solid point. And it is built upon a couple of things: one, life is not easy, for anyone. And two, to try and make it easy misses the point. An easy life is not one worth living. All the things in the world worth having and doing are difficult and take time. A life of faith is the same.
When we choose to live the harder more difficult road of living by faith, we choose the better life. And this pleases God. Why? Because as our Father, He wants the better thing for us, even if it is more difficult. It also pleases God because it is an exercise of our faith. When we live by faith and not by sight, we have to close our eyes and trust God to guide us and see us through. He is our eyes.
We only have two choices: to live by faith or by sight.
I'd rather have the better one. I'd rather have the enduring one. And I'd rather please God.