Created Desire #2: PLEASURE Part Two

Why did God create you?

Revelation 4:11 You created everything, and it is for Your pleasure that they existed and were created. (NLT)

One of the reason God created you is because God is a pleasure seeker (this isn’t the only reason). God wanted you to be alive and that’s why you were born, your arrival brought Him great pleasure. God did not need to create you but He chose to create you for His own enjoyment. Bringing enjoyment to God, living for His pleasure is one of the purposes of your life. One of the biggest gifts that God has given you is the ability to enjoy pleasure, He wants you to enjoy life, not just endure it. The reason why you are able to enjoy pleasure is that God made you in His image. The greatest form of pleasure that you can feel is God’s pleasure over you. This is the highest form of pleasure that a person can feel and it’s an incredible motivator to live a life of holiness and righteousness, it’s addicting. When you begin to feel this sort of pleasure then then you will easily want to give up the inferior pleasures of the world. It’s then that your spiritual boredom turns into exhilaration as you finally are released from chains and strongholds and find freedom in your relationship with God. When you start feeling the pleasure of the Lord, it changes your motivation for serving Him from duty to delight. You no longer feel the dread of having to have devotions every day. When you begin to feel God’s pleasure over you as you choose to spend time with Him your devotion time begins to feel delightful, it’s not a duty anymore, you feel His love and pleasure and you want to spend time with Him.


Pursuit the Greater Pleasures of God

Psalms 149:4, 11 the LORD takes pleasure in His people…the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy

We need to admit that God has given us a deep longing for pleasure, that there is nothing wrong with this desire itself; only in the ways we have gone about trying to fulfill it. God actually created pleasure in order to get us to abandon the lesser things and seek out the superior pleasures found in Him. It’s worth pursuing the pleasures of God. When you are satisfied and filled with the pleasure of loving God then you have a special measure of protection against the enemies schemes, you sin less because it just can’t satisfy anymore. Nothing can fill your desire for pleasure the way that God can, your husband can’t, your kids can’t, shopping can’t, new houses and cars can’t, but GOD CAN!

In "The weight of Glory" CS Lewis writes: "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased" We have settled for pleasures which are mud pies, spoiled meat, and molded bread. God offers us pleasures that are a banqueting table of delights that once tasted will deliver us from spiritual boredom and the domination of sin.

God wants to be the source of all our joys and he wants us to draw closer to Him through partaking in His creation. We should not minimize God’s gifts to us but we should be grateful for them and let them draw us to God instead of away from God. The food we eat, our friendships, the pleasures of family, work, hobbies – should never eclipse God but should draw us to God, the ultimate pleasure.

REMEMBER: It’s not enough to read through these blogs and be in agreement (head knowledge), you must move toward having these ideas actually be part of your everyday life!

How to Pursuit the Greater Pleasures of God:
• Attend a church that feeds you and facilitates your personal spiritual growth
• Attend a small group/cell group that also feeds you and facilitates your personal spiritual growth
• Spend time daily reading the Word and in prayer
• Pray through the topics in this blog – ask the Lord to show you areas where you have believed incorrect and to show you the truth