President John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” This same exhortation could be said to Christians concerning their relationship to the Lord Jesus. Did it ever occur to you that we can bring pleasure and joy to our Lord? We view Him as our provider, protector, and loving Father...and rightly so. But did you realize we can bring Him joy in serving Him; bring Him joy in loving Him; bring Him joy in wanting to be with Him through prayer and the word? Maybe we need to stop and realize how often our typical focus is on how God can bring us joy...while we fail to realize we can bring joy to Him. Today's My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers reminds us of this:

“Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink' ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us.

Beware of anything that competes with your pleasure-giving loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?”

An older saint I knew, Spencer Banfield, loved this hymn because of the reality it was in his life. The hymn goes:

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses
And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

The part we often overlook is “the joy WE share as WE tarry there” ...that is, our part in the joy the Son of God derives from our fellowship with Him. My prayer for you and me this day is this: Lord, we want to sit down with You this day...to talk with You...listen to Your voice...express our love to You. For we know this brings You great joy and that is what we want to do. We want to bring You joy today as we walk with You. Amen

Walk with the King today and be a blessing.