PRAYER PROMPT ••• The Bible I’m reading right now is a one-year Bible, and it’s broken apart by daily reading from the Old Testament, New Testament, a Psalm, and a Proverb.
I started it last August, and now, I’m finally at the front of the Bible with the designated January readings.
Today, two contrasts jumped out at me.
First, God’s decision to flood the earth in Genesis 6:6, “So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.”
Then, in Matthew 3:17, when Jesus was baptized, it says, “And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.’”
People broke God’s heart, and Jesus brought Him joy.
Two extremes and two emotions we can all relate to.
The fact that God’s emotions are documented this way should make Him feel even more personal to you.
This isn’t a God who doesn’t care.
He cares enough to be hurt by our actions.
He also cares enough to find joy in what we do.
Of course, one could argue that Jesus is perfect; He never gave God reason to be disappointed.
True.
But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for us to bring God joy.
We know we can break His heart; our sinful nature is a disappointment, but when we choose to do right over wrong – that’s an opportunity to bring God joy.
When we show the love of Christ to others, another opportunity.
When we pray and make time for Him…
When we give Him credit for our blessings…
When we sing worship songs about Him…
There are countless ways we can bring God joy.
Make no mistake – we can’t “earn” His love by doing things to make Him happy.
Our actions are never good enough to earn our salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9), but looking for ways to bring God joy is simply a part of having a relationship with Him.
That part is no different than the way we try to make our spouse happy, or the joy we feel when we do something special for our children.
Today, as you pray, ask God to forgive you for the times you’ve let Him down and ask the Holy Spirit to help you find ways to bring God joy.
Ask Him to help you draw closer to Him in the process.
