The enjoyment of God

“The enjoyment of [God] is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams. But God is the ocean.” — Jonathan Edwards

Pursuing Satisfaction. Joy, Rejoicing, and Happiness.

I used to not be able to say that God loves me so that I will be happy. I remember thinking that God wants me to be holy not happy. While it is true that He wants me to be holy, it is also true that He wants me to be happy. I don’t know why it never dawned on me that it is my view and our view of happiness that is skewed.

God is The Fountain of Living Waters (Jeremiah 2:13) that people forsake. People who are in a desert, dying of thirst, with cracked and bleeding hands and lips and all they need to do is turn and drink from the Fountain of Living Waters for the everlasting satisfaction, fulfillment, joy, and pleasure of themselves. Instead we turn to “broken cisterns that can hold no water”. We look for joy and satisfaction in everything but that which is perfectly satisfying.

I have heard variations of this all my life. You know? You know. Sometimes truths break out afresh and anew. Sometimes truths come with new force. Sometimes they are forgotten and need to be remembered. Sometimes God’s Holy Spirit just opens the eyes of the blind to see.

Rehearsing over this truth in my mind over and over excites me. Meditating on, is probably a better word, but I like rehearsing. Running it through my thoughts again and again.

Jesus said in John 6:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Do you see it? The next verse tells that He is speaking about the Holy Spirit who was yet to be given. So in saving us and giving us the Holy Spirit, God has given us the satisfaction and joy of our souls… and out of us flows rivers of living water because He is the Fountain of Living Water and He lives in us.

He spills out of us and the overflow of our joy in Him is love that spills to others… and then I end up not loving people and doing things out of a sense of duty but because the joy of the Lord is overflowing in my heart. Then I can be a cheerful giver, and that is good because God loves a cheerful giver. If we don’t care that God loves a cheerful giver then we don’t care about what pleases and delights God, because He tells us that He does love a cheerful giver.

David, speaking by the Spirit in Psalm 100 says to make a joyful shout to the Lord all you lands and in verse 2 he says “Serve the Lord with gladness, come before His presence with singing”. Psalm 37:4 says “Delight thyself in the Lord and He shall…” yeah we know the rest. Gladness, Joy, Delight, Cheerfulness… in God.

Psalm 16… not sure of the verse, says “In Your presence is fullness of joy and at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” Joy is with God. Pleasures are with God. He gives every good and perfect gift. All of God’s good and perfect gifts… if they are corrupted, they are corrupted by our sinful natures, and satan, and the system of this ungodly world.

Does this mean life is always fun? Of course not. But it does mean that we should pursue pleasure and pursue the satisfaction, that is, the happiness of our souls in God. It is not a wrong pursuit. It is good. Jesus struggled greatly while praying in the garden of gethsemane… but why did he endure? The Bible says in Hebrews 12 “who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame” It was for the joy set before Him. For the joy set before Him. For the joy set before Him.

There is also sorrow in the midst of joy, when waiting for it to come to a fullness. Happiness truly is knowing the Lord, the Savior Jesus Christ. So practically you pursue this joy by pursuing God. You pursue the relationship… like a husband pursues his wife and a wife her husband. You tell Him you love Him, you give Him gifts, you spend time with Him, you do acts of service for Him, and you touch Him. You get on your face before Him and on your knees in prayer. You clap your hands in praise of Him. You raise your hands to Him. Pursue it. You have to believe that He is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. You must believe that.

And with that I will leave you with what the Apostle Paul told the Philippians “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!” and what he told the Thessalonians “Rejoice always!”

I feel like I could just keep writing and writing.

But I won’t.

Not now.

Remember the miller’s donkey – C.T. Studd

I just read this quote from Charles Thomas Studd. I liked it. I smiled.

“Remember the miller‚Äôs donkey. The miller, son, and donkey went to the market. The miller rode the donkey all the way and people exclaimed, ‚ÄúCruel man, riding himself and making his son walk.‚Äù So he got down and his son rode; then people slanged, ‚ÄúWhat a lazy son for riding while poor old father walks.‚Äù Then both father and son rode, and people said, ‚ÄúCruelty to animals, poor donkey.‚Äù So they got down and carried the donkey on a pole, but folks said, ‚ÄúHere are two asses carrying another ass.‚Äù Then all three walked and people said, ‚ÄúWhat fools to have a donkey and not ride it.‚Äù So let‚Äôs go ahead with our work for God and not care what folks say.”