Become a creation of God that he can boast in. Trusting and obeying is one of many ways to please the Lord and bring him joy.
SHAUNA: Hi, I’m Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope with a word of encouragement from Joni.
JONI: Isn't it great to step back from a project well-completed and just enjoy the joy? Well, that’s how I feel about doing Joni and Friends Radio! I sit back, and I look back over, what, 40 years of programs and I just feel the joy. You don’t have to be on radio to understand. You know how I feel; you know how it is to look at something that you’ve done, or something that a loved one has done and feel the satisfaction and the joy of a well-completed task. You've seen the happiness in a child's face whose crayon masterpiece gets taped to your refrigerator. It's the same contentment and joy you feel after serving the applauded turkey dinner, right? Or seeing those words “great job” red-inked on the top of your history exam. Plus, the pleasure does not stop with one glance. I mean don’t you do this? Don’t you keep returning to admire that little drawing on your refrigerator? Or that row of pansies that you planted along the wall? Or the counted cross-stitch that took 150 hours to complete.
Now, with all that in mind, imagine the pleasure God derives from everything that he has made. What do you think surged through his thoughts the minute after a billion galaxies burst into being? Well, with typical understatement, the Bible tells us in Genesis 1:18 it says, “And God saw that it was good.” After standing back to take in the panorama, God rested – not to catch his breath from exhaustion, but to savor the moment and relish in the pleasure of what he had created. Don’t you love that?
Now, consider this. Think of what surges through God's heart when you – his epitome of creation – when you make it your ambition to be pleasing to him, to aspire to fulfill all his greatest desires for you. I mean, can’t you just imagine God's delight? I mean, God may say, “It is good” after creating mountains, and creating birds, and fields and animals, but just look at what he is creating in your life. “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” That’s what it says in Colossians 1. So, maybe other parts of creation make God say it is good, but when he sees Christ in you, oh my goodness, that is great!
I love the way God excels in the art of understatement. To say of his incredible work in creating the universe, “It is good” shows restraint, to say the least. This means we can be assured that when we please him, we really please him with a joy that is humanly indescribable. There are just no words for what God feels when he sees the image of his Son reflected through you, a human being that he has created. It blows me away to think that we can give God that much joy. There’s nothing restrained about it. So, 2 Corinthians 5:9 says, with more understatement, “We make it our goal to please him.” Wow!
I am awestruck to think that you and I can do something – we can do anything – that brings our great God enormous pleasure and joy. What a privilege to play a part in actually giving the Lord of the universe pleasure. So, join me today in sloughing off bad habits. Join me in sweeping your conscience clean and keeping it so. Join me in saying no to petty jealousies, trivial disagreements, and minor irritations that too quickly become major. The book of Psalms tells us to keep our eyes off of worthless things and to keep our lips from speaking deceitfully. Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth. Contrary to it, be thankful in all things. Let’s be a creation of God that he can boast in. In short, let’s trust and obey. That’s one way and I think it’s the best way, to make it our goal to really please him and bring him joy.
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