On Peace and Pleasure
You
will make known to me the path of life.
In
Your presence is fullness of joy.
In
Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Psalm 16:11 (NAS)
Last Sunday I came home from a week-long
trip to Florida and the Bahamas. I thank
God for the good things He has created for our pleasure:
white,
sandy beaches, seagulls
flying, dolphins
playing in the waves, good
food on the cruise ship, interesting people to meet.
So many good gifts He delights to give
us.
And so sweet that He delights in our
enjoyment!
He loves to watch us enjoying things.
He begs us to throw ourselves onto His
mercy and goodness,
He is so good.
But the best blessings on this trip, besides
the reality of His loving presence with me as I enjoyed the sand and sea, were
my two girls. I had so much fun being
with them. I am so proud of them--the
way they think and act and speak.
It wasn't all pure delight. There were some
eye-rolling moments. We don't always share the same idea of what constitutes
pleasure. Adri would not let me feed the
seagulls so I could get their picture flying over us. And I nixed her suggestion that we get
matching tattoos to commemorate our trip. But we love each other, and it was
pure fun for me to be with both my girls.
I loved watching them enjoy the sand and
sea and food and new friends, and in that way I was enjoying what God loves to
watch. He delights in our abandonment to
healthy pleasures.
I HATE how Satan has distorted those pleasures.
We gave him permission to do that. Our great fruit-tasting experiment destroyed our
ability to enjoy. It bound us, instead,
to fear and pain and despair. But I
praise God for solving that problem through Jesus' death and resurrection!
I LOVE being able to connect with my
Creator, through Jesus, and so to have those Eden-pleasures restored to me,
even in this dark, sin-cursed world.
On the plane ride home Adri became faint
and needed some care. The cabin crew
were sweet and helpful, and the emergency room nurse and his fiance--Good
Samaritan passengers on the flight--were as well. But it was eye opening to watch them minister
to her. The young woman engaged to the
nurse shared the anti-anxiety medication she carries with her on
airplanes. And when I told the flight
attendant that prayer was my anti-anxiety medication he said, "That works for some people," but
he carries medication for himself too.
I remember my struggle with anxiety as a
young woman,
being overwhelmed with a panic I could not
control,
finding it impossible to resist being
afraid of invisible evils that seemed to surround me.
But over the years God has led me so deeply
into relationship with Him that I no longer need medication.
He has shown me that there is nothing to
fear.
He has proven, over and over, that my trust
in His loving care of me is justified.
He has anchored my joy in eternity.
The struggle against fear is more intense in
today's world. The threats are now global, and our amazing technology makes sticking
our heads in the sand impossible.
But the cure for that fear is the
same.
Just as real and powerful as ever.
I pray that those sweet people we met on
the plane will find the deep peace that comes from knowing God--the peace that
rests deeper, and lasts longer, than the peace medication provides.
He is so good!
I love being able to rest in that reality.
I love being able to enjoy the good gifts He
surrounds me with here on earth,
I love anticipating the pleasures that will
be in His right hand, forevermore!
Thank You, Lord, for making known to us the
path of life.
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