What Matters Most After God Uses You
Luke 10:17-24
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There’s something exciting about seeing God at work.
Whether it’s an answered prayer, someone trusting Christ, a baptism, or simply watching a life begin to change, those moments fill us with joy. That’s exactly how the seventy disciples felt when they returned from the mission Jesus had sent them on. They came back rejoicing because they had seen God’s power on display.
Surprisingly, Jesus didn’t rebuke their joy.
But He did redirect it.
He told them, “Do not rejoice that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Their ministry mattered, but it was never meant to become the foundation of their identity.
That same temptation exists for us today.
It is right to celebrate what God is doing. We should rejoice whenever we see lives changed, prayers answered, people growing in Christ, or churches faithfully proclaiming the gospel. Every good thing God does deserves our celebration because He alone deserves the glory.
But there is a danger.
If we’re not careful, we can begin to build our identity around what God does through us instead of what He has done for us.
Our culture constantly measures our value by what we accomplish. We begin to believe our worth is tied to our success, our productivity, or even our ministry. Jesus lovingly reminds us that our identity rests on something far more secure.
As I shared on Sunday, that’s a lesson the Lord has been teaching me during my ankle recovery. There have been many things I simply haven’t been able to do. I’ve had to slow down, ask for help, and accept limitations that don’t come naturally to me.
In the middle of that, the Lord gently reminded me of something I needed to hear.
He didn’t love me any less when I was in a cast. He doesn’t love me any less now that I’m in a walking boot. And He won’t love me any more when I’m walking normally again.
Why?
Because my identity isn’t built on what I do for God. It’s built on what Christ has already done for me.
That’s true for every believer. Before you ever served, taught a class, led a Bible study, greeted at the door, sang on the worship team, or preached a sermon, you belonged to Him. His love has never rested on your performance. It has always rested on His grace.
That’s why Jesus points the disciples to the greatest source of joy imaginable:
“Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Our greatest joy is not found in what God does through us. Our greatest joy is found in what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.
Through His death and resurrection, our sins are forgiven. His righteousness has been credited to us. Our names are written in heaven. That joy cannot be taken away by changing circumstances, declining health, retirement, failure, or disappointment because it rests on the finished work of Christ, not our own.
Near the end of the sermon, I mentioned David’s prayer in Psalm 51:
“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.”
Perhaps that’s a prayer many of us need to pray today.
Maybe you’ve become so busy serving that you’ve forgotten the joy of simply belonging to Christ. Maybe you’ve tied your happiness to success, productivity, or what you can accomplish for God.
Jesus invites us to something better.
Celebrate what God does through you.
But never forget that your greatest reason for rejoicing is what He has already done for you.
That’s a joy no circumstance can ever take away.
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