God Will Leap for Joy When You Accept His Assignment for You
David W Palmer
(Luke 1:42–44 NKJV) Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! {43} But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? {44} For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.”
“Why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” This speaks of the unique and instant bond that the Holy Spirit created between Mary and Elizabeth. It also shows the remarkable humility of both Elizabeth and John the Baptist. Her rhetorical question— “Why is this granted to me …?”—implies first that she had a personal revelation of Mary’s baby as the Lord; and second, that she believed it was a very great honour to have Mary—and the Lord Jesus (in her)—visit her house.
“For … the babe (John the Baptist) leaped in my womb for joy.” Of John the Baptist, the angel had previously said:
(Luke 1:15 NKJV) “... he will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”
So John, and the Holy Spirit in him, responded with joy over hearing the sound of Mary’s voice. God brought John and Jesus into an amazing bond and cooperation. John was always destined to be the forerunner of Jesus; he already knew his place, and he rejoiced in Jesus. Likewise, Elizabeth knew her place beside Mary, and as a forerunner and support for her. Wow! God is so amazing! While the babies were still in the wombs, their calling and cooperation was already set in place:
(Jeremiah 1:5 MSG) “Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you.”
Implied in God’s statement, “I knew all about you,” is the idea that before coming into the womb; God and Jeremiah were intimately acquainted, and that they agreed as to Jeremiah’s mission and assignment. This is not only the same with Jesus and John the Baptist; it is the same with you and me. Although we may not initially be conscious of any such pre-determined calling or assignment, yet deep in our spirits, we have a sense of God-given destiny; and God is committed to bringing it to pass:
(Ephesians 3:20 NLT) Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
God calls some people to lead great movements, ministries, businesses, or nations. But many more, like John the Baptist and Elizabeth, are called, sanctified, and sent by God’s holy plans into supporting roles: being a number two, a server, a support worker, an intercessor, a worship leader, accountant, it specialist, or marketer, … the list goes on.
The important point for us to remember is that we will not only be accountable to God for the actual assignment he gave us, but that we will be perfectly equipped to do it. Moreover, we will only ever be completely fulfilled when we are in that role. Without always telling us what he is doing, God guides and prompts us by the wind of his Spirit—blowing us constantly in the direction of his call.
When a long way off course, life doesn’t work at all well; and even when very close to our destined course, we will always have a niggling unrest deep inside until we accept God’s call, place in the body, assignment for us, and anointing. Then and only then will we be fully pleasing to God and complete our God-given mission in life. This is the lane where we fully hit our energy stream; it is the arena where the game is played for which we are equipped; and it is the place of service where we are energized as we serve. A fulfilling and rewarding life is awaiting you, in the life’s work God has assigned for you.
Today, I am praying for God to keep stirring you, if you are not yet fully in your assigned mission. You may need to take some radical steps of faith, or some sacrificial actions of obedience to get there. But if you do, you will be at peace, the fruit will be amazing, and the energy will flow.
Perhaps we can all learn from Elizabeth and John the Baptist; they were immediately willing to recognize their role in relation to others God had called, gifted, anointed, and placed around them. They served their generation by serving Mary, Jesus, and each other. You are called to serve your generation too. God may have appointed you to lead a worldwide movement, business, or ministry; but many more are called to serve in the structures that come up around the point leaders. Whether your call is as a home-builder, janitor, worship leader, business executive, factory worker, scientist, it specialist, audio, multimedia, sales, or farmer; if you discover and fulfill your God-assigned role, God will reward you, and he will always leap for joy and sing over you:
(Matthew 25:23 NKJV) “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”
(Zephaniah 3:17 TLB) “For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will give you victory. He will rejoice over you with great gladness; he will love you and not accuse you. ‘Is that a joyous choir I hear?’ No, it is the Lord himself exulting over you in happy song.”
(1 Corinthians 12:18 NKJV) But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.
Note: the original Hebrew words in Zeph. 3:17 have the meanings: rejoice, glee, to spin around (under the influence of any violent emotion), that is, usually rejoice, a creaking (or shrill sound), that is, shout of joy. Jesus reflected this demonstrative side of God’s emotional exuberance:
“On that same occasion, Jesus was filled by the Holy Spirit with rapturous joy. ‘I give Thee fervent thanks,’ He exclaimed …” (Luke 10:21 Weymouth New Testament). The original word, “joy,” means: to jump for joy, that is, exult. Let’s be like Jesus in this today.