Hebrews 11:6

"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him."

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)

"Faith." A word used in both the secular and spiritual world. "Have faith in God." A common phrase used by Christians. It's a word we use so often, it's easy to lose sight of the meaning and how it specifically applies to our walk with Jesus.
Typically, we define faith as having hope in something, or in our case, in God. While this is true, we must not let the definition stop there. We must draw a bit deeper. It doesn't sound convincing to say, "I hope God exists." We are called to believe God exists, and with that comes trusting in each and every one of His promises. This faith is the component that allows us to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior by proclaiming that he was crucified and died on the cross, buried in a tomb, and rose on the third say in fulfillment of God's promises.
In Hebrews 11:6, the author expresses that faith is necessary in order to please Him. Specifically, he says that it is impossible to please God without it. Paul writes in Romans 8:8, "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." Going back to my previous point, this makes sense. Without faith in God's promises, there would be no acceptance of Jesus as our Redeemer. Without this acceptance, there is no salvation. Without our salvation, there is no bridge built between sinners and God our Father and, therefore, there is no relationship to be had. How can we please a God with whom we have no relationship?
The second half of Hebrews 11:6 describes what is in store for those who believe and trust in God's promises. The author says, "[God] rewards those who seek Him." We see in the Word that The Lord means this in both the present and future tense. For example, let's look at Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Here Matthew is referring to God's promise to provide us with clothing, food, and drink while here on Earth. Then, in Revelation 21:3 John describes, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.'" Those of us who have faith in God are also promised perfect fellowship with Him in Heaven.
God has asked a simple thing of us, to have faith in Him and His promises. In this, we please Him, and He in turn pours out our rewards. This seems straightforward but it can be difficult to apply when the enemy comes knocking. The best way to guard against these attacks is to have our weapon of choice ready beforehand. In my experience, understanding and memorizing God's promises is the perfect tool to use against him. God doesn't ask us to blindly follow Him and have a fluffy dream-like faith. He purposefully gifted us with His Word so we can have a deep relationship with Him and shield ourselves with His Armor. Before coming to Guatemala, I memorized Psalm 16:8 so I could recite it to myself whenever things began to get tough. "I have set The Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken." I can cling to the promise that God is always with me whenever I need to. The enemy cannot take this promise from me. He can't take this promise from any of us. And that is a reward in of itself.

My Personal Application
In response to this verse, I am making it my goal to memorize three more of God's promises by next Monday morning. I will also supplement what I learned in Hebrews 11:6 by memorizing Hebrews 10:23:

 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised it faithful.

"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." - John 14:18
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
"Truly, truly I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live." John 5:25