“I take joy in doing your will, my God…” (Ps. 40:8, NLT).
Holy Spirit has been stirring this verse in my heart for over a month now. I am ruminating on its significance. These words prophetically expressed Jesus’ heart before He came to earth in the flesh. Holy Spirit is talking to me about imitating this fundamental attitude of my Savior. I believe He wants to bless your heart with this message today too.
What does it look like, to take joy in doing His will? It must be something like what Jesus meant when He told His disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34, NKJV). Doing the Father’s will, we can conclude from these words, is something nourishing. Something strengthening. Something richly satisfying. Something from which we can draw immense joy – no matter how apparently simple the task.
I am also coming to understand that doing His will is going to look different for every individual life. God doesn’t look at you and wish that your life looked more like someone else’s that you admire. Instead, He longs for you to know that He made such a special, one-of-a-kind plan for your lifetime that looks nothing like anyone else’s (beyond basic building blocks like belonging to a family, participating in community, etc.).
Doing His will, for you, is going to be something extremely unique. He doesn’t measure the value of what you do for Him by numbers, statistics, or even measurable results. He simply takes delight in your offering of yourself to Him for the exclusive expression of His creative purposes. Through your hands, heart, smile, and the hours of your day, He will make the world a better place today. As you live out who you are, empowered and directed by His Spirit, His light will shine through you. His kingdom shall come, and His will shall be done, on earth as it is in heaven… through the willing offering of each of your days to Him.
Whatever you were created to do for Him, will nourish you as you do it. It will bring you profound satisfaction. You will truly be able to “take joy in doing His will.” Don’t waste time thinking your life should look more like someone else’s. Right now, right where you are today, you truly can take pleasure in doing His will. You can be fed and strengthened by living out the purposes He has for you.
He wrote these purposes into His book before one of your days came to be (Ps. 139:16). So, just like Jesus did, you can say to the Father, “Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God…” (Ps. 40:7-8, NKJV).
Each morning, you can present yourself to Him as a living offering of worship. “You have this day written in your book, Daddy God! I am here. I have come to do Your will. Take me by the hand and lead me through this day, as You have planned it from before the foundation of the world. My heart rests in Your promise to lead. I take great joy in doing Your will, my Father!”
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The janitor who keeps the church clean – is his/her work any more or less significant to the Lord than that of an evangelist like Billy Graham?
Feeding On Jesus 
We all have a unique purpose. Whatever we do, it should be for the glory of God
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Amen and amen, Barb. Father, glorify Your name!
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Great post! God has a unique plan for each one of us… Thank you for sharing this uplifting post!
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You are welcome, Linda! Grace and peace to you today! ❤ 🙂
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Thank you, Jennifer – your words allowed a smile of encouragement to grow from ear to ear as I read through. Bless you. x
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Aw, I love that so much, Dawn! You are truly welcome, and His richest blessings to you as well! ❤ 🙂
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Oh, Jennifer! My my my, each and every time I read your posts, it’s an on time word from Holy Spirit. I’m incredibly grateful for your obedience and your heart of wisdom! Who you are and who Abba is in you shines through every word.
You know, just last night I was praying about this very issue. Religious minds around me say that if we aren’t mentioning the name of Jesus, it’s not “of God.” I disagree because the light of Christ in us shouts JESUS everywhere we go! When we submit our lives, our desires, our hearts, and our calls, back to our Creator, it is His work, not ours. I can be a witness for Christ, even when His name isn’t being spoken. Using our gifts, talents, and God-given abilities enables us to co-create with Him and live a purpose filled life. Our relationship with Jesus emanates from every pore of our being. People will notice who we are and what we do. Not just what we say. How many people in our world today claim the name of Jesus and live in total disobedience and opposition to His Word?
What do you think, my dear sister?
I’m sending you my love. You are so special and deeply loved ♥️
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Aw thank you so much, sweet Holly! And YOU bless and encourage me so very much every time as well! I am truly so, so happy that this post was a blessing to you in a timely way. Thank You Jesus!
I definitely agree with you that He will shine through regardless of whether we mention His name in every sentence. This does not, of COURSE, mean that we are ashamed of His name — we speak it with boldness and love as He leads us to do so! But I love the quote I heard years ago about preaching His message: “If necessary, use words.” Also the one I heard from another person, that we are the only Jesus many people will ever encounter. I was just today thinking about how sad it is that, during this heated time of intense polarity, a whole lot of people are representing Him in a way that is far from His true nature. May He continue to purify each one of us, that we might accurately display His beautiful tenderness and redeeming power to a world that so desperately needs it!
And you, too, are such a special treasure of HIs heart!! Sending a very big hug with all HIs love ❤ 🙂 ❤
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When I put my hand to the pen or my fingers to the keyboard I know it’s where I’m meant to be. When I write, I feel led to put words on paper with the intent. Whether offering my own experience in a blog post, telling the story of characters and worlds created in the imagination, or penning lyrics of a poem or song stirred within the spirit, I feel drawn to help others. To tell stories that bring us closer together, and encourage others to find their voice.
Thank you for this.
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That is precious beyond words, Hamish. You are right, when you find your gift from Him, it stirs you up in such a life-giving way when you start to exericse it!
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Seeing others like yourself use their gifts is inspiring. God is giving me strength to devote more of my time to this gift, but I still struggle against the chains of our world to watch TV, or YouTube, or pay video games, which provide temporary respite from a long day, but don’t full my heart and soul with the joy I know writing does. It’s tough, and every day at the moment is a battle, but I feel like I’m moving in the right direction which gives me hope.
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My spirit bears witness strongly in the Holy Spirit, that you are absolutely moving in the right direction! Your comments absolutely spill over with a strong sense of spiritual growth happening; it truly is evident. I know the Father is exceedingly proud of you!! Your desire to grow in Him pleases His heart so much more than you can even imagine.
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