“So Excited” Face

Don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.

Luke 10:20

Sometimes I get so excited about what God does that I just cannot seem to keep it in. My sweet friend Alison calls it my “so excited” face.

In Luke 10, Jesus sent out seventy-two of His followers ahead of Him to all the towns and places He planned to visit. In Luke 10:17 when they returned to report back to Jesus, it’s not hard to imagine that they had on their “so excited” faces, too, because they eagerly told Him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

But it is Jesus’ response to His followers that really intrigues me. They were reveling in the successful ministry God had given them, a mission that had seen results. Jesus reminded His followers of the good things He had given them, like the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome the power of the enemy so nothing would harm them. But then He said something unexpected: “But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven” (Luke 10:20).

This word don’t gives us perspective when we have on our “so excited” faces for what God has done in our lives, our work, and our families. When we have experienced His power and cannot keep it in, we glory in Him and our position in Him for all eternity. Even when it seems that our mission has failed, we can truly be joyful because in Christ, our names are written in heaven—signed, sealed, and delivered by His sacrifice for you and me! Now that’s something to have a “so excited” face about!

If we are not wearing our “so excited” faces, let’s think of what Jesus did for us. Then write a thank-you note to Him.