Here’s a thought that has been on my heart a lot over the last few months:
all of our favorite things that make our hearts so happy God either created or gave us the ability to create.
Stop and think about that for a second.
What do you love? Coffee? He created that. Chocolate? He created that too. Are you an adrenaline junky? God loves adventure. Love going to the beach? He created that too, with the delight of your heart in mind.
We preach against idolatry in things and against distraction through entertainment, but I think sometimes the unintended message that gets across is that it’s totally wrong to delight in things of this world because somehow it makes us lose sight of the father— and that definitely holds some weight and can be true if we value his gifts over his heart. But, that mindset can also so make us miss out on the beauty that the Lord has gifted us in this world.
God gives us coffee and sunshine and flowers and good movies and art pieces and books and music and kayaks and trails to hike and sweet friends to invest in and literally everything. I’m someone who believes that every single good gift comes from the Lord. All of those things, He gives us as a gift to delight our hearts in, not to shun off as something ungodly.
So whatever you see today that makes you smile, praise God. Praise Him. Because He loves you SO much that He lined everything up perfectly for you to receive that gift. When I drink my morning coffee, I praise him because it’s SO good for my soul. When I’m playing settlers at 2 am with my friends I praise him because wow that’s a good time, thanks God for fun things.
God isn’t always all serious and churchy. There’s a time and a place for seriousness, for hard conversations, for hard teachings, for mourning, for abandonment, for refinement. Those things all have a place and those things all hold weight. But if that’s all we focus on then we’re missing out on the beauty of this life that the Lord has given us.
Laugh today. Hug someone just because you can. Do something fun, look at something pretty. Don’t just worship in reverence, delight in the Lord. Enjoy Him and His creation. No this life isn’t all ponies and rainbows, but it’s also not all fire and brimstone. We’re made in His image, so if we love beauty and fun and all the things that don’t seem serious, doesn’t it make sense that His heart is for that too?
Ecclesiastes 3:12-13
“I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all His toil— this is God’s gift to man.”
At the end of the day, at the end of everything, our delight is solely in our Fathers heart. That’s truth and I’ll stand by that until the day I die. But I also believe that all of creation comes from His heart and sings His praises so if we look just a little below the surface, everything around us gives us a glimpse of His character and His heart and we can worship Him through that.
Love y’all a whole lot. Praying all the abundant life and sweet, overflowing joy for y’all today!
Alley
