Do you enjoy God?

Over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed something about the folks whose Christian walk I most admire.

They enjoy God.

I don’t mean they enjoy church or even other Christians. Maybe they do. But I’m talking about the way they enjoy God Himself.

I’m listening to A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson, Translator of The Message by Winn Collier, and I love how Eugene loved God (I never met Eugene Peterson, but he feels like a friend, so I’m claiming first name privileges). Read his paraphrase of this passage about rejoicing in God from The Message:

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!

Philippians 4:4 (The MSG)

Now that’s enjoyment.

My almost three-year-old granddaughter knows how to celebrate. On a recent trip to a pumpkin-patch-turned-Christmas-village, she came across a mechanical snowman shooting soapsud “snow” into the sky–and boy, did she revel. It was one of those “best day ever” moments of laughter and twirling.

What is the meaning of JOY?

The “snow” disappeared quickly, and the celebration was fleeting. As are many things that bring us momentary happiness.

True abiding joy lasts because it goes deeper than just feeling happy.

The smile of a baby when he gazes at his mother gives us a glimpse of abiding joy. He knows she is his source of life, there is no other person who will do for him, and he rejoices in her. He has a deep attachment-type love for her.

What brings this abiding JOY?

We have this kind of joy in the presence of our God. He is the source of our life, no one else will do. When we gaze into His face, we rejoice in Him. Whatever the circumstances. Why is that?

 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

Romans 5:1-2 (ESV)

Peace with God. Access to God. We get to rest in the security of God’s arms and form an attachment bond with Him. Much like the one between baby and mother. In The Message, Eugene puts it this way:

We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise” (Rom. 5:2, The MSG).

Romans 5:3 (The Message)

• We shout out our praise that He’s justified us by faith
• We shout out our praise that we have the hope of His glory.
• We shout out our praise that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faith. Hope. Peace. Jesus. The second, first, fourth, and fifthcandles we light during the advent season. And we rejoice in all of them.

Joy is the third candle. In the middle of the advent season, we rejoice in what came before and what is coming next.

But what if this Christmas is hard?

The truth is, not everyone feels like reveling or shouting out praise at Christmas. Did you know the holidays are the loneliest time of the year for many people? Others are anxious about one year’s end and another’s beginning. Grief and loss are compounded in the middle of all the partying.

But the abiding kind of joy isn’t canceled out by sorrow. In fact, Romans 5 says that we rejoice even when we suffer.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:4-5

To quote my friend Eugene again, “We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles” (Rom. 5:4, THE MSG). How can that be?

We keep rejoicing even when things aren’t great because we love and trust a God who pours out His love into our hearts. We don’t despair, because our attention is fixed on our source of life and our eyes are full of Him. Our sorrows don’t disappear, but in the presence of God they don’t loom nearly as large.

Happiness is about soapsud snow and other circumstances that will pass. Joy is about loving and being loved by our eternal God.

Joy is about loving and being loved by our eternal God.

Come Alongside

So how about it? Are you ready to cultivate some deep, abiding joy this week? Let’s take some time to gaze into the face of our Father God and revel in Him.

Try reading something like Psalm 139–check out the way Eugene words it in The Message, or listen to Shane and Shane’s version here or Poor Bishop Cooper’s version here.

Or you might like to find a quiet place where you sense God’s presence and let Him pour his love out into your heart.

Looking at God doesn’t have to be something big or fancy. Just be still and ask God to show you Himself. Celebrate what He shows you. Revel in Him.

And will you let us know in the comments how you celebrated so we can rejoice in Him together?

Traveling in Grace,

Christi