Editor's Note: You can read the first half of this article, "What Makes Your Heart Sing?," by clicking here.

Live a good life. Do things that please God. Keep all the rules, right? Strangely enough, even Christians can get caught up in that mindset—without realizing it. What is it that really makes God's heart sing? 

You. That's right, you. Not rule-keeping. You make God's heart sing. How do we know that?

Five Ways You Make God's Heart Sing  

• You are part of His creation. "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Genesis 1:31 NIV).  
• You belong to Him. "I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name; you are mine" (Isaiah 43:1 NIV). 
• You are a part of His "people", and He delights in you. "For the Lord takes delight in his people" (Psalm 149:4 NIV). "He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV).  
• You are His child. "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…born of God" (John 1:12 NIV).  
• You are worth the price. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16 NIV). 

Some of those truths apply to you regardless of who you are. You are part of God's creation. You are worth the price. He does love everyone, and Jesus died for all. But unless you are a "Christ follower and believer," you don't belong to Him; you are not His child (John 3:18).

And while it's true that God loves a heart of humility, love, faith, and obedience, God loves us, period, no matter who we are (Romans 5:8). Nothing we will do can change that, for that is simply God being God. He is love—just like He is holy, trustworthy, good, and fair.

What's Our Response?

But doesn't what we do matter to God? Doesn't our "activity" please or displease God? And what does making God's heart sing and making our hearts sing have to do with each other?

Think about it. Here are some sample corresponding responses on our part: 

• As His creation, we long to glorify Him and bring Him praise—and that makes God's heart happy.  
• A sense of belonging motivates us to obey and honor Him in all we do—and that pleases God.  
• As His people, we enjoy bringing pleasure to His heart and others as we make Him known—and that brings God pleasure.  
• As His child, we cannot help but delight in Him as our loving Father—and that brings great joy to God.  
• Knowing the price He paid for us compels us to shine for Him in a dark world—and that brings great glory to God. 

The Motive 

As a follower/believer of Christ you bring joy to God's heart regardless of whether you're washing windows or writing a novel. And doing either of those can bring your own heart joy—if your motive is truly to give God glory (Colossians 3:17). But no matter what your current occupation (or the one you dream about); no matter who or what brings pleasure to your life, Jesus must ultimately be what makes your heart sing (more than your vocation, hobby, or activity).

It's the difference between joy and duty. And that's how the two (Your pleasure and God's pleasure) come together as one. 

Rebecca Barlow Jordan is a bestselling inspirational author and speaker who loves to share God's encouragement with others. Her newest 3-book series, just released by Zondervan, includes Day-votions™ for Women, Day-votions™ for Mothers, and Day-votions™ for Grandmothers. You can purchase these books and others on her website, www.rebeccabarlowjordan.com or sign up for her newest blog/newsletter, where this article first appeared, at www.rebeccabarlowjordan.com/blog. Rebecca's Daily in Your Presence devotionals are also featured among Crosswalk.com's daily devotional offerings.

Publication date: May 12, 2010