“Christians Should Enjoy God!”

Sunday, December 20, 2015

When Jesus spoke about anxiety in Matthew 6:25, he spoke of two common objects of worry. Number 1: our lives—the food we will eat & drink. Number 2: our bodies—the clothing we will wear. For those who do not have these things in life, the tendency is to worry about getting them. But for those who do have these things in life (as the vast majority of Americans do), the tendency is to worry about losing them. And this kind of concern is manifested toward far more than just our food and clothing. But there is a biblical balance that can offer relief from our anxiety.

When we are blessed with great wealth in this lifetime, it can be a real temptation to spend the most of our time worrying about losing that wealth or misusing it. However, the Bible gives us this advice: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not... to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” (1 Tim. 6:17)  Therefore, we must keep a balanced perspective and enjoy God’s good gifts!

When we are blessed to be married in this lifetime, it can be a real temptation to spend the most of our time worrying about losing that marriage or messing it up. However, the Bible gives this advice: “Enjoy life with the wife [or husband] whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.” (Eccl. 9:9) Therefore, we must keep a balanced perspective and enjoy God’s good gifts!

And, most importantly, when we are blessed to have a relationship with God in this lifetime, it can be a real temptation to spend most of our time worrying about losing God’s grace or ruining his good favor toward us. It can become a temptation to spend our lives looking over our shoulders for God—wondering what trap he might catch us in at any moment of lapsed diligence. However, the Bible gives us this encouragement: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom. 15:13)  If you are the kind of person whose life is spent with an anxious view of God, please be reminded that he sincerely loves you. The fact that he came to earth as a man and died as a criminal tells us that more than anyone else ever could, God has loved every one of us. Therefore, we must keep a balanced perspective and enjoy God’s awesome presence in our lives!

- Dan Lankford, evangelist

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