Some of you may remember singing this song in Sunday School:
As a child, I knew God loved me. He proved it by sending his Son to take the punishment for my sins, provide the way for me to live in heaven one day, and know him in the present.
But I also knew my little eyes, hands, and mouth were not as careful they should have been. Surely God was disappointed in me much of the time.
The truth that I could enjoy God never entered my mind. My false impression of his disapproval stood in the way for many years.
Somehow I’d missed the message of such scriptures as:
- The joy you have in the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10 GWT).
- Take delight in the Lord (Psalm 37:4a NIV).
- I will go to the altar of God, . . . my joy and my delight (Psalm 43:4 NIV).
I read such passages as directives for prayer and worship rather than invitations to take pleasure in relationship with God.
Psalm 100 provides Exhibit A for enjoying him by praising him. “Shout for joy,” the psalmist begins. “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs” (vs. 1-2, emphasis added).
Then he gives one example why: God has made us his own—in spite of our frailty—and cares for us like a compassionate, attentive shepherd (v. 3).
Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7)
That’s certainly cause for thanksgiving and praise (v. 4), which in turn fosters our delight in God. Then the psalmist concludes with three more reasons to enjoy him: he is good, loving, and faithful (v. 5).
This psalm hints at another important truth. Dare I use a sport analogy?
My first attempts at playing tennis sent balls whizzing every which way. However, various drills and hitting the ball thousands of times against a wall built up my skills until I could actually play the game.
That’s when I began to enjoy the sport. The better I knew how to play tennis, the more pleasure I took in the game.
‘See the parallel in the spiritual realm? The more we know God, the more we’ll enjoy him.
But that’s not all.
The more we delight in God, the easier it becomes to obey him and live by his ways.
And as we see those ways contributing satisfaction, contentment, and purpose to our lives, we enjoy him all the more.
So how do we foster our pleasure in God? Here are three ways to get us started:
LEARN ALL YOU CAN ABOUT GOD—his character and his ways.
In January we explored the exercise of slowly reading through the psalms and writing down every mention of God’s character and deeds. As the list grows so does our delight in his multi-faceted splendor [1].
LEARN ALL YOU CAN ABOUT JESUS—his life, sacrificial death, provision of eternal life for us and all its implications.
For example, while reading the gospels, note his responses to people, his choices, and his behavior. What character traits can you identify?
While reading the letters written by the Apostles Paul, Peter, and others, consider all that Christ’s sacrifice has purchased for us.
The more we learn about Jesus, the more our love for him grows. The more our love grows, the more we find our hearts filled with joy in him.
REVEL IN GOD’S BEAUTY—his magnificence, the glory of his creation, and the beautiful blessings he bestows.
“His love notes are stashed everywhere,” says Sara Hagerty [2].
And as we discover them, we’ll find ourselves smiling and even laughing in pleasure with God, in the awesome works he performs [3].
Oh—and one more thing to celebrate. There will always be more to enjoy, and we can always acquire more ability to enjoy our God because . . .
quote from Morning by Morning, 268.
How do you enjoy God? Please share in the comment section below!
[1] https://nancyaruegg.com/2025/01/16/celebrating-god-through-the-psalms/
[2] Unseen, 206.
[3] https://nancyaruegg.com/2019/06/06/love-notes/
Image credits: http://www.youtube.com; http://www.dailyverses.net; http://www.freebibleimages.org; Nancy Ruegg; http://www.canva.com; http://www.pixahive.com (Vijay Richhiya).
Sign up below for the monthly newsletter, with additional features not included on the blog. And thank you in advance for becoming a subscriber!
From the Inside Out 