Originally published Tuesday, 26 November 2013.
Last night I learned something.
We had a concert–a CD Release concert–for Hope’s first original worship album, “Fight for Us.” More than fifteen people played–guitars, violin, cello, drums of all kinds–and they played pianos, and synthesizers (I still don’t know what a synthesizer does but if you are cool you say “synth”) They sang with all their hearts and they led a packed auditorium in honest lyrics about life and God and worshiping Him with our all.
And as I watched them, I had a sense that God was delighted. Delighted. Not because they were all super-cool or super-talented, but because they were offering the best of themselves for his glory. They were reflecting the purest stuff, the deepest gifts that He gave them, and they were shining it right back to him. They were offering praise in the way that He made them to offer praise, and they were doing it in the presence of the many hundreds of people watching. They offered, God delighted, others benefited. A formula for joy.
It was a pure form of worship, and it was joy, and delight and praise.
In some ways, it’s easy to see God’s delight in that moment, with a stage and a song and an audience. But what about this moment? This moment in your life….?
Because God is love and because he’s given us gifts made for all of us to reflect his glory–I know that same principle applies to you. 1 Peter 4:10 says “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” Whether you play music or sing or not. So as we approach Thursday, a day of Thanksgiving, what would it be like to offer your thing up to God for his delight? What would it be like to faithfully serve up God’s grace this Thanksgiving?
Maybe your thing is decorating a beautiful table. Maybe your thing is playing a board game with your kid cousins. Maybe your thing is being delighted at the food that’s prepared. Maybe your thing is roasting an amazing turkey. Maybe your thing is being the person who jumps up and starts the dishes.
Most likely, your family doesn’t appreciate your thing as much as you would like–most families don’t. They aren’t wowed by you because they’ve lived with you, and let’s face it, we are all hard to live with sometimes.
But don’t let anyone’s lack of appreciation stop you from offering your thing up to God for his delight. The way you treat your family, the way you set the table, the way you play with the babies, the way you thank your friends, the way you give of your money, the way you pray for the lonely–that’s your thing. Offer it up. Offer it up with no expectation of appreciation or reward. Offer it up because it’s the gift you were given and it’s what you were made for and your Heavenly Father delights in it and delights in you.
And there is nothing as rewarding as God’s delight.
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