5 Biblical Ways to Enjoy Life and Have Fun
Do you ever wonder, does God want you to enjoy life and have fun, emphasis on the have fun part?
One of the more memorable quotes from Little House on the Prairie that always gives me a chuckle is when Laura and Mary are walking along and Laura says quite matter of factly, "We can't go to the party on the Lord's Day, because parties are fun, and fun is sin!".
How about a sense of humor? Do you think God has one?
GotQuestions.Org answers with the following:
Answer: Perhaps the best indication that God does have a sense of humor is that He created man in His image (Genesis 1:27), and certainly people are able to perceive and express humor. The American Heritage Dictionary defines a “sense of humor” as “...The ability to perceive, enjoy, or express what is comical or funny.” According to this definition, then, God must show an ability to perceive, enjoy, or express what is comical.
Of course, God's sense of humor is pure and undefiled, where sinful man can fall into a sense of humor that does not honor God.
Having said that, God's creation and His Word speak to the Lord's desire for His children to have fun and enjoy life.
Let's look at 5 Biblical reasons to do just that!
Finding Enjoyment and Fun in your Work
Yup, you read that right! I know, I know, our perception of work flies in the face of enjoyment and fun.The book of Ecclesiastes refers to work as toil...
Definition of toil: exhausting physical labor
But wait for it, on several occasions throughout Ecclesiastes we are told to find enjoyment in our toil. Say what??
There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink
and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God.
Ecclesiastes 2:24
You might ask, "how can I enjoy life or even have fun if much of my life is at work or working?"
The Word of God tells us...
Commit your work to the LORD,
and your plans will be established.
Proverbs 16:3
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
Psalm 90:17
The Lord is telling us to look to Him, where there is fullness of joy. When our work is established in Him, our reward will be great.
I'm sure many of us have been amazed to see how God multiplied the work of our hands, and gave us fulfillment, joy and fun in the process, when we committed that very work to the Lord. I can certainly testify that this is true!
Unless you are a small child, there is no age where work is not a big part of your day. Whether it is school work, house work, raising children, office work, manual labor, the arts, sciences, medicine, legal, etc., etc., etc., Every day has it's work.
Since the fall of man, toil and work has been the consequence, but God in His grace and mercy, as He does with everything, comes alongside of us in our toil making a way for us to enjoy the work and have fun in the process. We need only commit to Him our work and His favor will rest upon us.
Finding Enjoyment and Fun in Your Days
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
Think about it, even before the worlds began, God had a specific purpose and plan for each and every day of the Earth's existence. He is the God of Creation. His hand upholds the mountains and the seas, the deserts and the jungles, the sky above and the earth below. He tells the winds when to blow and the rains when to fall. He causes the earth to quake and the thunder to peal. Everything He does has a Sovereign purpose.
Not only that, He has a specific purpose and plan for every one of our days as individuals. He orders our steps and allows the circumstances that touch our lives.
The Psalmist invites us to rejoice and be glad in each day, for it is the day that the Lord has made.
But how do we rejoice when experiencing or being effected by earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods or fires? And how do we find joy when our day features significant trials or any trial at all for that matter.
You don't... It would be strange to find joy in suffering. God is not calling us to rejoice because of our suffering, but to rejoice in Him despite our suffering...
I remember my favorite thing about being pregnant was feeling the baby's movements. If I was having a bad day, my son or daughter would make their presence known with sweet kicks that would always bring a smile to my face, despite the circumstances. In that moment, my focus would shift from my problem, to the joy of my precious son or daughter, that I would soon meet.
In the same way, we can know that God is moving inside of us to strengthen and comfort us in our trials. We can have joy when we look to the Author and Finisher of our faith who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, having sat down at the right hand of the Father.
In this life we will have trouble, but we can take heart because we have the promised joys of Heaven.
Indeed, we CAN rejoice and be glad in a day, even when we are going through a trial, we need only to look to the source of our Joy.
We are certainly blessed with many wonderful days that bring joy and lots of fun - days in which we are fully present, savoring and enjoying every minute of the day.
In the good times, it is especially important to rejoice IN the Lord because He is the one that blessed you with such a wonderful day.
Whether we are having a good day or a bad day, there is always a reason to rejoice.
Enjoying Life and Having Fun
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
They say that the secret to enjoying life and having fun all begins in the mind. When we wake up in the morning with a positive mindset for the day, week, month or even year, we are establishing a soundtrack for joy.
Focusing on the negative is a self-fulfilling prophecy that will "prove you right". Negative thinking just produces negativity in every aspect of your life.
Through the Bible, the Lord God makes known the path of life - abundant life. As we soak up every life-giving Word of the Bible, our minds will be filled with fullness of joy. We will learn the secret to enjoying life and yes, having fun.
God does not intend for His children to fret and worry or to toil in their own strength, but to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:10
The Lord promises that when we are in His presence, through the Word and through prayer, we will experience fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.
Until now you have asked nothing in my name.
Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
John 16:24
The key to enjoying life and having fun is in knowing, believing and walking in the Word of God. What does Jesus tell us, "Come to me all who are heavy ladened and weary and learn from me for I will give you rest."
Jesus' Words about rest evoke a light, care-free feeling. When our minds are not burdened by the cares of the world, we are able to have fun and enjoy life.
Finding Enjoyment in God
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
Luke 1:47
The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that "the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him for ever".
How can we enjoy God? He is not physically in front of us. He cannot audibly talk to us face to face.
The answer is, we can enjoy God because He is EVERYWHERE!
God is in the flowers that bloom and the birds that sing. He is in the laughter of a child and in the hug of a friend. He is in the smile of a stranger and in the love of a spouse. He is in the sunrise and the sunset. He is in the warm summer breeze and in the delicate design of a snowflake.
When we look for God in everything we will find our enjoyment in Him.
We have a God who condescended Himself coming to earth as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger - Jesus, who experienced everything that human beings do, except sin, and satisfied the wrath of God through His death on the cross so that we would find our salvation in Him.
There is no greater joy than to know that Jesus died for our sins so that we could have eternal life with Him in Heaven.
Just like the excitement of new love when couples are consumed by thoughts of each other, always carrying with them an inner joy knowing that they are loved and cherished, we as dearly loved children of God carry with us the joy of the Lord, for His love is everlasting.
Now go out there and enjoy life and have fun! ;-)
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Wonderful thoughts, sweet friend! Thank you so much for pouring so much of yourself into every post. Sending much love and many hugs your way tonight.
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl, my faithful commenter and dear friend, your comments always give me so much encouragement in my ministry here.
DeleteSending you much love and gratitude,