How do you begin your day? Do you wake up, jump out of bed, and enthusiastically look forward to all that life is going to offer you? It’s a happy, “Good Morning, Lord” type of day!
Or, is it a “Good Lord, morning!” kind of experience for you?
If it’s “Good Lord, morning!”—ask yourself this question, What is it that makes God happy?
We talk a lot about what makes us happy, how God can bring us joy, all the benefits of being part of the family of God, and more. But more often, we don’t stop and consider what makes God happy.
The answer to the question isn’t hard to find, and it’s not that complicated—in fact, it works for our benefit and completely changes our lives. “…and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him” (1 John 3:22). What delights God is at the same time the very thing that leads to our satisfaction and joy.
In Ecclesiastes 2:26, we read, “For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy….” Pleasing God is the greatest thing we can do to find fulfillment and joy, for obeying his will and loving him is the key to a meaningful life. God has designed it that way. It’s not the motivation for why we do it, but the unmistakable connection is present all the same.
This Sunday, read again what makes God’s heart glad. Psalm 100 tells what we need to know.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash
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