"You created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created." - Revelation 4:11 (NLT)
"The Lord takes pleasure in his people." - Psalm 149:4a (TEV)
Welcome to Day 8 of our Purpose-Driven Life journey! Yesterday we discovered that everything exists for God’s glory – the ultimate reason behind all creation. Today, Rick Warren reveals the first of God’s five purposes for your life: You were planned for God’s pleasure.
The Moment You Were Born
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 didn’t need to create 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. When you fully understand this truth, you will never again have a problem with feeling insignificant. It proves your worth.
If you are that important to God, and He considers you valuable enough to keep with Him for eternity, what greater significance could you have? You are a child of God, and you bring pleasure to God like nothing else He has ever created.
“Because of his love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children – this was his pleasure and purpose.”
God’s Gift of Pleasure
One of the greatest gifts God has given you is the ability to enjoy pleasure. He wired you with five senses and emotions so you can experience it. He wants you to enjoy life, not just endure it.
The reason you’re able to enjoy pleasure is that God made you in His image.
We often forget that God has emotions, too. He feels things very deeply. The Bible tells us that God grieves, gets jealous and angry, and feels compassion, pity, sorrow, and sympathy as well as happiness, gladness, and satisfaction.
God loves, delights, gets pleasure, rejoices, enjoys, and even laughs!
What Is Worship?
Bringing pleasure to God is called “worship.” The Bible says: “The Lord is pleased only with those who worship him and trust his love.”
Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship.
Like a diamond, worship is multifaceted. Anthropologists have noted that worship is a universal urge, hard-wired by God into the very fiber of our being – an inbuilt need to connect with God.
Worship is as natural as eating or breathing. If we fail to worship God, we always find a substitute, even if it ends up being ourselves.
The reason God made us with this desire is that He desires worshipers! Jesus said: “The Father seeks worshipers.”
Expanding Your Understanding of Worship
Depending on your religious background, you may need to expand your understanding of “worship.” You may think of:
- Church services with singing, praying, and listening to sermons (i always thought it was about singing slow worship songs)
- Ceremonies, candles, and communion
- Healing, miracles, and ecstatic experiences
Worship can include these elements, but worship is far more than these expressions. Worship is a lifestyle.
Worship Is Far More Than Music
For many people, worship is just a synonym for music. They say, “At our church we have the worship first, and then the teaching.” This is a big misunderstanding.
Every part of a church service is an act of worship:
- Praying and Scripture reading
- Singing and confession
- Silence and being still
- Listening to a sermon and taking notes
- Giving an offering
- Baptism and communion
- Even greeting other worshipers
Actually, worship predates music. Adam worshiped in the Garden of Eden, but music isn’t mentioned until Genesis 4:21 with the birth of Jubal. If worship were just music, then all who are nonmusical could never worship.
Even worse, “worship” is often misused to refer to a particular style of music. People say fast songs are “praise” while slow, intimate songs are “worship.” This is a common misuse of the term.
Worship has nothing to do with the style or volume or speed of a song. God loves all kinds of music because He invented it all—fast and slow, loud and soft, old and new. You probably don’t like it all, but God does!
If it is offered to God in spirit and truth, it is an act of worship.
There Is No Biblical Music Style
Christians often disagree over music style used in worship, passionately defending their preferred style as most biblical or God-honoring. But there is no biblical style! There are no musical notes in the Bible; we don’t even have the instruments they used in Bible times.
Frankly, the music style you like best says more about you – your background and personality, than it does about God. One ethnic group’s music can sound like noise to another. But God likes variety and enjoys it all.
There is no such thing as “Christian” music; there are only Christian lyrics. It is the words that make a song sacred, not the tune. There are no spiritual tunes. If I played a song for you without the words, you’d have no way of knowing if it were a “Christian” song.
Worship Is Not for Your Benefit
As a pastor, Rick Warren receives notes that say, “I loved the worship today. I got a lot out of it.” This is another misconception about worship. It isn’t for our benefit! We worship for God’s benefit.
When we worship, our goal is to bring pleasure to God, not ourselves.
If you have ever said, “I didn’t get anything out of worship today,” you worshiped for the wrong reason. Worship isn’t for you. It’s for God.
Of course, most “worship” services also include elements of fellowship, edification, and evangelism, and there are benefits to worship. But we don’t worship to please ourselves. Our motive is to bring glory and pleasure to our Creator.
In Isaiah 29, God complains about worship that is half-hearted and hypocritical. The people were offering God stale prayers, insincere praise, empty words, and man-made rituals without even thinking about the meaning.
God’s heart is not touched by tradition in worship, but by passion and commitment. “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.”
Worship Is Your Life
Worship is not a part of your life; it is your life. Worship is not just for church services. We are told to “worship him continually” and to “praise him from sunrise to sunset.”
In the Bible, people praised God at work, at home, in battle, in jail, and even in bed! Praise should be the first activity when you open your eyes in the morning and the last activity when you close them at night.
David said: "I will thank the Lord at all times. My mouth will always praise him."
The Secret to a Lifestyle of Worship
Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory, and pleasure of God. The Bible says: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
Martin Luther said: “A dairymaid can milk cows to the glory of God.”
How is it possible to do everything to the glory of God?
- By doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus
- By carrying on a continual conversation with Him while you do it
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."
This is the secret to a lifestyle of worship, doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus.
The Message paraphrase says: “Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.”
Work becomes worship when you dedicate it to God and perform it with an awareness of His presence.
Falling in Love with Jesus
Warren shares a personal illustration: When he first fell in love with his wife, he thought of her constantly – while eating breakfast, driving to school, attending class, waiting in line at the market, pumping gas. He couldn’t stop thinking about this woman!
He often talked to himself about her and thought about all the things he loved about her. This helped him feel close to Kay even though they lived several hundred miles apart and attended different colleges. By constantly thinking of her, he was abiding in her love.
This is what real worship is all about – falling in love with Jesus.
Transforming Your Perspective
Understanding that you were planned for God’s pleasure changes everything:
- Your identity – You’re not an accident; you’re God’s beloved child
- Your significance – You bring God joy like nothing else He created
- Your daily activities – Everything can become worship
- Your relationship with God – It’s about love, not duty
- Your purpose – You exist to bring pleasure to your Creator
Living for God’s Pleasure Today
How can you live for God’s pleasure today?
- Start your day by acknowledging God’s presence and thanking Him for life
- Throughout your day, do ordinary tasks as acts of worship offered to Jesus
- Maintain a conversation with God as you work, drive, cook, or clean
- End your day with praise and gratitude to God
- Approach everything with the question: “How can this bring pleasure to God?”
Remember: Worship is not about perfect performance but passionate hearts. God is more interested in your love than your talent, more concerned with your heart than your skill.
Day 8 Reflection Questions:
Point to Ponder: I was planned for God’s pleasure.
Verse to Remember: “The Lord takes pleasure in his people.” – Psalm 149:4a (TEV)
Question to Consider: What common task could I start doing as if I were doing it directly for Jesus?
Your Worship Challenge: Today, choose one routine activity (washing dishes, commuting to work, exercising, etc.) and consciously do it as an act of worship to God. Talk to Him during the activity and dedicate it to His pleasure. Notice how this transforms your experience.
Tomorrow’s Preview: We’ll dive deeper into what it means to become a best friend of God and discover how authentic worship opens the door to intimate fellowship with your Creator.
How has understanding that you were planned for God’s pleasure changed your view of worship and your daily activities? Share your insights below as we explore the joy of living for God’s delight.
Learn more about Day 8 on Purpose Driven.
John Thole is the voice behind Beyond Salvation, a blog that captures the highs and lows of life through faith, laughter, and honest reflection. With a passion for storytelling, technology, and spiritual growth, he creates content that resonates with seekers, believers, and anyone navigating life’s journey. Whether sharing personal insights, devotionals, or thought-provoking discussions, John aims to inspire, uplift, and spark meaningful conversations.
