“1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” Isaiah 6:1-7
“Ransomed men need no longer pause in fear to enter the Holy of Holies. God wills that we should push on into His presence and live our whole life there. This is to be known to us in conscious experience. It is more than a doctrine to be held; it is a life to be enjoyed every moment of the day.” The Pursuit of God by A.W Tozer
God wills that we should push on into His presence and live our whole life there.
How in the world would we not enjoy our journey on this earth if we lived each moment in His presence? For most of us when we think of “being in His presence”, we think Sundays or Bible study gathering, right? But the stunning reality is that His presence is here for us each moment. As I am typing these words, His presence desires to draw me deeper into Him. Each breath I let out, God desires for me to enjoy Him and to glorify Him. God, what a holy wonder to know You and to walk with You. Father, it is my heart deepest desire that I never ever stop being in awe of Your majesty and the wonder of Your greatness.
I was going through my journals couple weeks back and I came upon a question I had written while attending a Women of Faith conference- this particular conference was in the fall of 2012 I believe. This question was from one of the speakers and she had said something in this nature, “When you get to Heaven and God asks you “did you enjoy the journey?”; what will you tell Him?”
As I was skimming through my journals and saw that question, it jumped out of the page and its depth struck me!
Let me rephrase the question: do you enjoy His journey through you?
His perspective
God has a perfect purpose on how we should enjoy our lives here on earth but sadly we also have our own versions of what enjoying life means. The term yolo (you only live once) got really popular among young adults because it encouraged “living your best life” because after all you only live once. This is a lie from the pit of hell because once we die, we will face God and He will determine where we will spend eternity.
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25: 31-33, 45-46
So no, you don’t live once. And how you live here will determine where you spend eternity. Eternity is real; don’t get sucked into the lie that this life is all there is. And for Christ’s followers, enjoying life means that we live a life that pleases our Savior Jesus Christ. O the words I desperately want to hear at the end of my life, “well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” Matthew 25:23
Enter into the joy of your Lord
We enjoy our journey by living according to our Maker’s instructions. How do you get the most out of anything? By following its owner’s instructions, right? If I want my car to last long and to operate at its maximum level, I absolutely have to follow the car’s maker manual, right? The same goes for us, for you to fully enjoy your life you have to follow your Maker’s instructions for your life. This is how it gets tricky though, we want to enjoy our lives fully but we want to do it either on our terms or the society’s terms. We live in a perverse generation and everyone wants to do what they want and how they want to do it. But the truth of the matter is, this kind of living of “however you want” leads to death. Living for your own self will lead to eternal punishment like we read earlier.
“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 God is our creator, and regardless of how many times we ignore this, He knows best. God knows what is best for us in terms of what truly brings us joy. The same way a car manufacturer knows which type of oil its car needs in order to operate smoothly.
Will we heed to our Father’s voice and truly live our lives to the fullest?
“I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the lord always before me;
because He is at my right hand, I shall
not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole
being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
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 16:7-11
You want to enjoy your journey? Spend most of your time in His presence seeking His face. This may sound “ultra spiritual” but please tell me, with all the evil and sin that is in us and around us, where else are we to find fullness of joy? Please, tell me. Nothing will give your soul satisfaction than the One who created your soul. This is why David prayed,
“One thing I have desired of the Lord,
that will I seek;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in His temple.” Psalm 27:4
Beloved, you will only enjoy your life to the fullest only when you surrender to your heavenly Father. Please don’t buy into the yolo type of joy because it is fleeting. The joy of this world will leave you empty over and over again. Lasting joy is only found in Christ and nowhere else.
Please, pause and meditate on the below verses:
“You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.” Psalm 4:7
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:9-11
Did you enjoy the journey?
On that day, I will grin and whisper, Father, I wholeheartedly enjoyed the journey for You filled my heart with Your joy. And in Your presence I found fullness of joy. Father, You gave me more than enough. More than enough. Thank You for always giving me full access to the fullness of who You are.
I love you, God. I love you.