Enjoying God

“O taste and see that the Lord is good! Happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!” – Psalm 34:8

Man’s chief end, according to the first question of the Westminster Catechism, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Simple and succinct. But did you ever think that the two actions, glorify and enjoy, are the very same thing? To glorify God is to enjoy Him; to enjoy Him is to glorify Him! You know, one gets the impression that not many people enjoy God. There are many kinds of actions and feelings toward God, but how many equate with the pleasure of enjoying Him? Many succumb to just ignoring God because of the press of life itself, and because of that pressure, being inattentive to the One who must be acknowledged by faith and never sight, at least for now. God is actually enormously present, but only to those whose faith is intensely focused upon Him. Life moves forward whether or not you take God into account, but it will not move forward favorably for you, in this life and beyond, without acknowledging, glorifying, and enjoying Him. The key ingredient in your life is missing if God is missing.
Enjoying God is never relegating Him to a last thought or no thought status. He is most rightfully the One who ought to hold the premier place in your thoughts, for without Him nothing is or will be. In the time you spend alone, fellowship with God ought to always be preeminent; for He will always elevate your thought life in and through acknowledging His presence.
In your time spent with others always introduce God into the mix. After all, He is there; why not be the One to remind everyone He is. The more this becomes your habit, the more you glorify Him, and, of consequence, enjoy Him. Though God is always present, your own benefit is never manifested until your faith actively and purposefully embraces His presence. “You are here, and I love that You are.”
In sorrowful and painful times, you may draw back from enjoying the comfort of God. You may feel anger towards Him, or just feel like suffering alone. It is perhaps in suffering and pain that the enjoyment of God is most poignant; the pain may be so severe that enjoyment is the last thing you want to be thinking or feeling. Yet He is uniquely the One who can most comfort a forlorn soul. Enjoying His medicine may be your only, your most satisfying, your most healing salve. In fact, it is.
In happy times there is no better One to prolong the experience, especially when you are alone and others are gone, than to share the joy you feel with your true Father and relish your companionship. It is the nearest and most intimate relationship you can know. No other knows you so thoroughly, delights in your company, and loves you so completely. It is the first and the last of your enjoying anything. At least it ought to be if it isn’t. You miss the best if it is not so with you.
Of course, all this requires faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God, to draw near to Him, believing not only that He exists, but that He delights in rewarding your seeking Him out (Hebrews 11:6). Faith in God must be constantly refreshed, utilized, strengthened, and put to good use in staying near Him. Faith is the disciplined, personal exercise which glorifies and enjoys the God who not only made you but takes care of you, sustaining your very being.
The Epistle of James encourages the focus of your faith, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” This is a promise, and also the place for you to be and stay; glorifying and enjoying Him forever. Your home!

“Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace; streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above; praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it, mount of God’s unchanging love.”
(1st verse of Robert Robinson’s hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” 1758)