Charlie Johnston likes to weave God into the conversation any time he can. In this song he uses a classic technique to start the visit — he leads with a question. “Do you know what God will do for you?” Please give Charlie’s song a sing-along listen and then let’s continue the conversation.

Gimme?

I confess my first thought when I saw this song’s opening line (“♫♪ Do you know what God will do for you? ♫♪”) was to wonder if this song was about how God could serve me. I recalled a couple of famous quotes, the first from President John F. Kennedy: “… ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” The second attributed to Pastor Reid: “God is not a short-order cook.” The thought of singing about what God would do for me seemed a little selfish.

Then I thought about “The Lord’s Prayer”, the model Jesus gave us, and realized — depending how you count — about half of that was asking God for something. So I started to lighten up a little, and tried to adjust my thinking to be more like the Bible.

Then it occurred to me that God does a lot of stuff FOR us which only becomes useful TO us if we KNOW about things He does for us and ACT to receive them so we can DEMONSTRATE His goodness and manifest His power in a world that needs His deliverance. That’s when this song came into focus for me. (Sorry, I’m a slow learner.)

All that is to say, “Charlie’s song is a gem!”

What God will do for you, and you and you

I love how this song can work for all kinds of people in all kinds of situations. It is not just for people who don’t know the Lord at all, nor is it just for people who know Him well.

Who would not be benefited this very moment by a little more of one of these things from this song?
— praying
— night turning to day
— being set free from captivity
— going from blind to seeing
— seeing God’s power in action
— gaining peace
— gaining rest
— being led by the Lord
— having every need supplied

Famous old ball player Dizzy Dean is quoted as saying “If ya done it, it ain’t braggin'”. Our song is about things God has done — and says He will do. This song gives us an occasion to think about those things ourselves, and gives us an open door to talk about those things when we sing this song with others.

What else will God do?

Our song is a good place to start when listing things God will do for us. Of course there are lots more things God promises He will do. We can find these in Scripture, in other people’s testimonies and more and more in our own lives, too. Here are some more things the Bible says He will do:
— strengthen me (so I can do all things through him)
— instruct, confront, reprove and correct me
— keep me from perishing and instead have eternal life
— take on the load of every anxiety we cast on Him
— He will be our song
— He loves us
— He cares for us

Who could not use these?

I was given good advice years ago when a friend said, “You’ll get a clearer picture of your purpose in life, and even gain pep in your step, zip in your lip and glide in your stride if you’ll learn what God will do for you.”

God bless you lots!
-Dale R.

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Download this song sheet

LYRICS – What God Will Do For You
Text & tune: Charlie Johnston (2010)

1. Do you know what God will do for you?
He will hear you when you pray.
Do you know what God will do for you?
He will turn your night to day.
Do you know His word is true?
Do you know He cares for you?
He will hear you when you pray.
He will turn your night to day.

2. Do you know what God will do for you?
He will set the captive free.
Do you know what God will do for you?
He will make the blind to see.
Do you know His word is true?
Do you know He cares for you?
He will set the captive free.
He will make the blind to see.

3. Do you know what God will do for you?
His great power meets the test.
Do you know what God will do for you?
He will give you peace and rest.
Do you know His word is true?
Do you know He cares for you?
His great power meets the test.
He will give you peace and rest.

4. Do you know what God will do for you?
By His spirit He will lead.
Do you know what God will do for you?
He’ll supply your every need.
Do you know His word is true?
Do you know He cares for you?
By His spirit He will lead.
He’ll supply your every need.

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Each time I post a new song and lesson here I send a brief, cheerful note to friends of this song site. The note gives a quick description of the song and lesson along with a link to the new song’s page. It is super-easy for you to get a note from me, too. Just click the green “Song of the Week” button below and you are almost there.

To sweeten the deal, you will also get instant access to the “Music Box” where I put all the free resources and downloads that go along with these song pages. Check it out now! Good stuff. (Side note — I still post announcements on social media, too, even though I have learned it is terribly unreliable at getting the message out and keeping us connected. Email gets that job done where social media fails. We do well to connect this way, and avoid getting throttled by social media.)

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