What Makes God Happy
“May the glory of the LORD endure forever.”
Psalm 104:31
What makes God happy? If you were to discover the answer, would it change the way you live? Would it affect what you do? Would you not become heaven-bent on doing that which you knew for certain makes God happy?
Many things delight God, but nothing delights him more than the rapture he enjoys from his own Son. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased,” he boasts (Matt. 3:17). Jesus is what God looks like in his magnificence and excellence. Jesus is the perfect reflection of God’s moral splendor. Because Jesus is the exact image of the Father, he is the glory of God (Heb. 1:3).
We make God happy when we showcase Jesus in our lives. We make God happy when we reflect to those around us as well as to the heavenly hosts any attribute, any character quality, of Jesus. When by God’s grace we remain patient, resist temptation, offer a smile, bless a child, sit silent, meet a need, sing a hymn, repeat a Scripture, praise the Father, give the gospel, work faithfully, feed the starving, help a neighbor, we are making God happy. How so? Because we are doing what Jesus would do—and as we do it, we are making more explicit the character of God to those around us. God’s glory is the display of the awesome beauty of his many and varied perfections. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).
The unshakable happiness of God is a happiness in himself. He is uppermost in his affections. In everything he does—in everything he wants us to do—his purpose is to preserve and display his glory. In the next hour you will have sixty distinct minutes as God-given opportunities to glorify the Lord. Showcase the Son, and you can’t help but glorify the Lord in the next hour!
I glorify you in my life today, Lord Jesus!
Why Should We Love the Return of Christ?
Pastor John Piper joins the podcast to share a hopeful vision for the second coming of Jesus. Hear how anticipating the return of Christ can help people who are suffering with hardship and disability today, plus the importance of cultivating a deep love for the Savior as we await his return.
