You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. -Psalm 16:11 ESV
It has been said that we as people will naturally gravitate toward pleasure and avoid pain. Could this be because we were designed for Eden (a godly paradise full of pleasure and delights)?
I’ve come to realize that there is immense power in pleasure, strength in joy and captivating glee in His beauty. Over a phone conversation, I admitted to my best friend that when everything else has failed to keep me walking the straight and narrow with Jesus…the pleasure has never failed.
When rules couldn’t keep me, when holiness couldn’t convince me, when not even a sense of right and wrong could oblige me…the experiences that I’ve had with Him burned like embers in my heart with promises of flaming joy.
I’ve realized Father has done something irreversible in my soul. He’s reached down in the core of my spirit and touched me with eternal love. God is love. Love is what man was created for. Once the creation has been touched with intimacy by the Creator a sense of completeness, peace and wholeness comes with it. A sense that can never be forgotten.
Through the hardest seasons of my life (some of them where I cried consistently for months) He’s kept me with beauty, joy and pleasure. Not with religion or anything that I thought He would use…but with music, with merriment, with whispered kisses and blessings in abundance.
I’ve found He loves color, He loves spice, He loves to see me laugh and He holds me when I cry. He’s more wonderful than Niagara Falls, more majestic than any patterned constellation, more fun than children’s bubbling laughter, more fluid and wildly beautiful than all the oceans combined.
I’ve been touched with a pleasure that nothing in this world can offer…but yet all of creation reflects His glory…His art-ship. And through Him I’m enabled to fully enjoy everything in this world that’s good to take delight in and relish.
No church service can replace personal encounters with Him and yet there are few other joys than fellowshipping with other believers with Him in the room. He’s not stoic religiosity but joyful freedom that fills the heart with love for self and others. I thank God for His joy and pleasure. David was right when he quoted in Psalms, “your loving-kindness is better than life!” (Psalm 63:3).
I’ve recognized through fellowshipping with Him that godliness brings substantial blisses that cannot be compared to anything in this world and that sin brings pain. Through His brightness and holiness, I’ve glimpsed His radiant heart. It is like a sparkling pool of everlasting love and goodness. His nature is good, His heart is good, His mind is full of nobleness, kindness and life-giving wisdom. There isn’t a single part of Him that is bad. And because of this, I can trust Him. I can relish in His kindness. I can feast off His bounty and I can enjoy life to the fullest.
“Joy is the serious business of Heaven.” -C.S Lewis
“This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” .-Nehemiah 8:10 NIV
~For more devotions like this, check out my book, Visions of Celestial Love:
“A delightful book that reflects the praises from a heart that desires to abide closely with our Heavenly Father. Written in a style that summons us to experience a journey of deeper intimacy with a loving God. Ashley covers the foundation of the Christian faith that brings encouragement and assurance of God’s promises when faced with life’s challenges. Embracing our uniqueness and the safety of transparency before our Maker who cares about the most intricate details of our life. Yes, an invitation indeed from the One and only who can fill what are heart’s ache for.” — Jocelyn Reyna, Entrepreneur