If someone came up to you and asked you why you love God, what would you say? Would you say that you love Him because He sent His son to die for us? Or that He gives you peace? Or maybe because He is the ultimate Healer and counselor? The number of reasons we have to love Him is higher than any of us can count. This seemingly simple question raises thoughts in my mind about how all too often we focus our attention on our problems or life's mess, when we would be a lot better off focusing on how sharp His goodness really is.
One of my professors recently said: "Faith is something you do everyday." This is true. But sometimes, it is easier to get on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter or think about other things than digging into your faith. Don't get me wrong; this doesn't happen everyday, but if I'm being honest it does happen more than I would like to admit. I want my relationship with God to be something that I genuinely look forward to putting time into. Not something that I feel like I have to do. All too often I see others, as well as myself, just going through the motions in their faith. This doesn't mean that we don't love our Father, or that we don't want to have a good relationship with Him; it just means that we are human. We as humans need constant reminders of how great our God really is.
I look back on my life a lot and see how faithful the Lord has been. This is one of my favorite things to think and talk about. I also often look ahead, where fear and excitement live hand in hand. But what about right now? Time flies and as I'm approaching adulthood I look back and think to myself why did I not enjoy that more? Why was I so worried about this and this and this to actually enjoy my life that was right in front of me? I don't want to waste another day not truly enjoying my Father and all that He has done.
What does it look like to enjoy God? To feel the joy that can only come from Him? It is impossible to fully live our lives without taking the time to enjoy our Creator.
I want to bask in the goodness of Him. When I pray to desire Him, my whole outlook changes. I see His beauty everywhere. It is almost as if my earthly desires cease to exist, even though I am human and they are always there. I see that even throughout my every day life He has strategically placed gifts and reminders for me to see. It's a shame that I am not always looking for these. Whenever I see a gorgeous sunset or a night sky full of stars I can't help but think about how God made these and so many other beautiful things.
When I am hurting I tend to rely on the Lord more than when things are going good, and I think this is true for a lot of people. Worshipping Him when things are good is different from worshipping Him when things are bad. Now that I am to the point of boasting in my weakness, I am able to experience joy-true joy, from my Father. However, I didn't just wake up and decide one day that I was gonna embrace my weakness and let God take over. It took a while and many, many prayers. Now that I see that suffering and bad things are going to happen no matter what and that He is in control, I can rest. In His presence. Which also happens to be my happy place. Here, I experience this unexplainable joy. Joy because He's got it all, the good and the bad. Joy because He is the King of the Universe and He wants to fill my heart with His love and be my closest companion. The thought that God wants to love me perfectly and eternally gives me the best feeling in the world. And the best part is that this feeling is forever. This is enjoying God.
It is a joy to love and serve You, Father.
