As I begin week two of this 40 day Purpose Driven Life challenge, I’m realising that the more I read the book the more revelation is falling into place in my heart. Some of the queries I had have clicked and I’m enjoying discovering the freedom of fulfilling my purpose in God. Life’s exciting when you have the King on your side!
Chapter eight is lovely. It’s all about how much pleasure God takes in His people – that’s us!
The Lord takes pleasure in his people. Psalm 149:4
Here’s a litttle exerpt that meant a lot to me:
The moment you were born into the world, God was there as an unseen witness, smiling at your birth. He wanted you alive, and your arrival gave Him great pleasure. God did not need to created you, but He chose to create you for His own enjoyment. You exist for His benefit, His glory, His purpose, and His delight. Bringing enjoyment to God, living for His pleasure, is the first purpose of your life… It proves your worth. (The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren)
Author Rick Warren goes on to explain that worship is how we bring pleasure to our God. I’d never really thought about it but he explains that ‘praise and worship’ at church isn’t our only worship – not even close. God created music – He loves the stuff! It’s the words that mean so much to Him though.
Worship is more than music. Everytime we choose God’s way, we’re worshipping Him. We’re putting Him before ourselves and our own desires and letting Him reign. That’s true worship.
I was really surprised to read the subtitle ‘Worship is not for your benefit’. It’s not that I’d been consciously thinking about worship and what it could give me but knowing that it’s sole purpose isn’t to lift me up, give me a buzz and make me feel great kind of takes some of the pressure off. Sometimes I just don’t feel like worshipping. I don’t feel like making the right choices or raising my hands or keeping my mouth shut when I should. The fact that worship isn’t all about me and that my feelings aren’t the important part in the moment brings clarity to the idea that sometimes you just have to do it. Push through my own limitations and decide to worship God. Because He is worthy.
Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering. Romans 12:1
Our ‘everyday, ordinary life’ is what God loves and wants to be a part of. He wants to be in continual conversation with us. What a great way to get all my words out – my husband will be pleased ;o) David said, “I will thank the Lord at all times. My mouth will always praise Him.” Psalm 34:1 I’ve been making an effort to talk to God more often and I’ve found that doing this constantly lifts my spirit. It’s like I’m tapping into a stream of joy and peace. I love having Him there all the time, willing to hear about my fears or worries, excitements or dreams.
He’s a wonderful friend, He really is.
TPDL question to consider: What common task could I start doing as if I were doing it directly for Jesus?
This blog, for me, is what I needed reminding about. I started it because I knew that it was what God wanted me to do but it’s easy to start looking at the stats, seeing which posts readers prefer and begin writing according to that. I needed reminding that this blog is for Jesus and I need to make sure I keep that at the heart of all I write.
What about you? Is there anything you could do with Jesus in mind?
Thanks so much to those of you who have been leaving lovely comments – it’s always great to hear your thoughts. xo
PLEASE NOTE: Quotations in this and other posts relating to The Purpose Driven Life (usually entitled Day:?) are sourced from The Purpose Driven Life book by Rick Warren unless otherwise stated. This is an independant study and is based on my opinion and experience only. Copies of The Purpose Driven Life book are available for purchase from all good christian books stores, including Koorong. The first seven chapters of the book can be downloaded FREE from Rick Warren’s official site here.
Every (1) Matters 