My Greatest Joy in Life

My greatest joy, as was Jesus’ while he was here on earth, is to do the will of him who sent me.

There are so many thoughts that swirl around in my head when I think of God’s will…my job, money situations, where I will go, who will I meet, how will I find words to witness, trials, and the list goes on and on. But I guess, all these aside, it doesn’t really matter. Don’t get me wrong, doing the will of God is the most important thing for us to do. If we’re not living for him, what is there to live for? What I mean when I say that it doesn’t really matter is that there is no worry or anxiety or fear in doing God’s will. It’s perfectly laid out and will be perfectly executed. Our job is simply this: do it. God doesn’t promise that we will always have what we want, that we will be where we like, that we will know what comes next, but he does promise that he will always provide, always be there with us, always forgive, always protect us, and he will always be God. Put our will aside, pursue after Him, and you’ve got yourself a deal.

Many times in the past I’ve pushed against God’s will, as I’m sure you have. Even the slightest resistance is disobedience and will cause some amount of worry, anxiety, or fear. For example, you go for a job interview that you really want to turn out well. You desperately want the job. You fret and have sleepless nights and worry and wonder…how silly! All along you could be trusting in God’s will for your life.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

Nothing you do can change whether he wants you to get the job or not. So why worry? In worrying, we show God that he isn’t big enough to get us this job (or whatever the situation might be.) We put limitations on God, and we take our lives into our own hands. I tell you from experience, life could be some much simpler and sweeter if we let God have the reigns and keep them!

Along those same lines, if we try and do something counter to God’s will, we should expect trouble. Not following what he has for us and choosing our own path in life basically shows that we don’t think God’s will is good enough for us. We want something different and, possibly what we think, better. This path can also cause confusion, hurt, backsliding, and a number of other things.

So what’s the lesson in this? My greatest joy, as was my Lord’s when he came to die for the sins of the world, is to do the will of my God. This means walking with him wherever he goes. It might lead to somewhere far outside my comfort zone, or it might mean staying right where I am even if I desire to be somewhere else. Hard times and problems could come in any shape or form, but God is bigger than any of those any day!

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

So really, what is our excuse? We KNOW God will see us through what he has planned for us, and we KNOW what we are supposed to do according to His word. Our duty, and should be our greatest joy, is to do the will of him who sent us.