Well, man may make his plans but God directs his steps. I planned to pick up part three talking about how we don't desire and enjoy God though we may trust him. I posted Part 2 yesterday and noticed much reading and little commenting. I cannot say enough how much of a research this is for me still. If you read and have questions please ask because I'm asking them too and if you don't agree feel free to say on what point. This discussion is an invitation to dive in and filter out what is not true and what is but that does not come from any of us, it comes from the revelation of God through the Holy Spirit to our hearts AND minds. I really do mean when I say I that invite discussion. I want to hear what's turning in your heads even if it's just that you are dizzy! :) Or if you are drawing a blank...you can share that too:) If it's that you just think I'm talking circles and don't get my point, I pray it becomes clear soon.....my point that is. And, you know, I realize that mainly this is a journey God has me on, and I delight in it but I don't expect it to make sense to everyone (as it barely is starting to make sense to me). It's my joy to share with you but I also write so I will not forget.
I do have two things that have come up or been shared with me on my facebook regarding this topic that I'd like to share at the end.
Still, I was pondering some things I had written and re-evaluating their validity with the rest of scripture. I wanted to make sure to clarify that we are not unhappy because we have sinned (though that may sometimes be true, it is not true all the time especially as I think of Job) but that because of sin and our fallen state, we struggle with happiness. It is the same with righteousness. Christ has cleansed us, we are righteous, but yet, we struggle here with being righteous in our flesh. I hope that helps a bit. We have to remember our redeemer HAS indeed redeemed and we are not trying to work for any reward, even happiness, we seek it out of delight from our eyes being opened and our hearts therefore responding.
Also, when I respond to the verse "he will give you the desires of your heart" with "he wants to make you happy!" I DO NOT mean that he wants to give you what you want and crave of the temporal because the fact is that that is NOT what will make you happy. It may give you an earthly delight that can indeed be from him as a gift, or it may be a flat out deception of happiness, but either way, it will not give you what he made you for that being HIM. So, God knows more than we do that the desire of our heart is for Him. He knows that because He put that desire there. It is a separate desire than the desires for earthly goodies from him and it is the very desire I'm wanting to re -captivate and seek, and tell you about. There is a happiness that leaves us wanting, and there is a happiness that when we seek it and desire it, and find it, it fills up our joy. More on that later (don't you love that I always say that;)
So, I take a side step into Job, my chronological reading and study that the Lord used to embellish my train of thoughts about happiness (quite unexpectedly I might add! I love that He works that way!). I was starting to see a connection in the over all message of Job but I was not sure what it was yet. I jumped ahead to start evaluating the very last three chapters of Job as I will be responsible for that devotional post on the Bible In A Year And Beyond site I've graciously been asked to take part it. Yet, I was still back in today's readings in Job 26-29. Job 28 is a pivotal and crucial chapter in the book of Job, and it is a turning point of the story. Job begins to turn toward not just the bigness of God, or his mighty ways that we observe, but his WISDOM that we cannot fathom and that no man can understand.
I began to ponder about wisdom. The Lord reminded me the language he uses to entice us into the glory of wisdom:
For wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; (Prov 2:10)
For wisdom is better than jewels;And all desirable things cannot compare with her (Prov 8:11)
How much better it is to get wisdom than gold!And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver(Prov 16:16)
He who gets wisdom loves his own soul;He who keeps understanding will find good. (Prov 19:8)
Notice the language of pleasure, of treasure (paralleling our earthly "luck" or "pot of gold"...prosperity, riches and prosperity), of desiring and wanting, of seeking your own happiness or "loving your own soul" by seeking wisdom. It would at first sound like selfish language to say "loves his own soul", for should he not love God? Ah, but as Piper points out in his book, they are the same, wrapped up in each other. God is our greatest good that we should seek for ourselves.
Now notice the language of desire and seeking:
I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. (Prov 8:17)
If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; (Prov 2:4)
She (wisdom) is more precious than jewels;And nothing you desire compares with her. (Prov 3:15)
Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.(Prov 4:5) (here we are not just enticed or encouraged to seek but commanded! God does that too and we need to listen when he is this serious!)
At the same time, as Job discovers in chapter 28, wisdom cannot be gained by human study of any kind, it is from the Lord. The men who advised him did not have it (according to God himself, he says that of them at the end of Job), and Job had heard of it but had not seen it yet.
For the LORD gives wisdom;From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Prov 2:6)
The LORD by wisdom founded the earth,By understanding He established the heavens.(Prov 3:19)
Counsel is mine and sound wisdom;I am understanding, power is mine.(Prov 8:14)
And these words seem to echo Job 28:
Surely I am more stupid than any man, And I do not have the understanding of a man. Neither have I learned wisdom, Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His son's name? Surely you know! Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar. (Prov 30:2-4)
For Job reflects:
"But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 'Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. '"
He even takes a few verses to mention specific gems and precious metals of earthly fortune that cannot compare giving the word picture and enticing of Proverbs that what man desires most and enjoys so highly, cannot compare to this delight.
Another important parallel though is found in verse 22:
I do have two things that have come up or been shared with me on my facebook regarding this topic that I'd like to share at the end.
Still, I was pondering some things I had written and re-evaluating their validity with the rest of scripture. I wanted to make sure to clarify that we are not unhappy because we have sinned (though that may sometimes be true, it is not true all the time especially as I think of Job) but that because of sin and our fallen state, we struggle with happiness. It is the same with righteousness. Christ has cleansed us, we are righteous, but yet, we struggle here with being righteous in our flesh. I hope that helps a bit. We have to remember our redeemer HAS indeed redeemed and we are not trying to work for any reward, even happiness, we seek it out of delight from our eyes being opened and our hearts therefore responding.
Also, when I respond to the verse "he will give you the desires of your heart" with "he wants to make you happy!" I DO NOT mean that he wants to give you what you want and crave of the temporal because the fact is that that is NOT what will make you happy. It may give you an earthly delight that can indeed be from him as a gift, or it may be a flat out deception of happiness, but either way, it will not give you what he made you for that being HIM. So, God knows more than we do that the desire of our heart is for Him. He knows that because He put that desire there. It is a separate desire than the desires for earthly goodies from him and it is the very desire I'm wanting to re -captivate and seek, and tell you about. There is a happiness that leaves us wanting, and there is a happiness that when we seek it and desire it, and find it, it fills up our joy. More on that later (don't you love that I always say that;)
So, I take a side step into Job, my chronological reading and study that the Lord used to embellish my train of thoughts about happiness (quite unexpectedly I might add! I love that He works that way!). I was starting to see a connection in the over all message of Job but I was not sure what it was yet. I jumped ahead to start evaluating the very last three chapters of Job as I will be responsible for that devotional post on the Bible In A Year And Beyond site I've graciously been asked to take part it. Yet, I was still back in today's readings in Job 26-29. Job 28 is a pivotal and crucial chapter in the book of Job, and it is a turning point of the story. Job begins to turn toward not just the bigness of God, or his mighty ways that we observe, but his WISDOM that we cannot fathom and that no man can understand.
I began to ponder about wisdom. The Lord reminded me the language he uses to entice us into the glory of wisdom:
For wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; (Prov 2:10)
For wisdom is better than jewels;And all desirable things cannot compare with her (Prov 8:11)
How much better it is to get wisdom than gold!And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver(Prov 16:16)
He who gets wisdom loves his own soul;He who keeps understanding will find good. (Prov 19:8)
Notice the language of pleasure, of treasure (paralleling our earthly "luck" or "pot of gold"...prosperity, riches and prosperity), of desiring and wanting, of seeking your own happiness or "loving your own soul" by seeking wisdom. It would at first sound like selfish language to say "loves his own soul", for should he not love God? Ah, but as Piper points out in his book, they are the same, wrapped up in each other. God is our greatest good that we should seek for ourselves.
Now notice the language of desire and seeking:
I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. (Prov 8:17)
If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; (Prov 2:4)
She (wisdom) is more precious than jewels;And nothing you desire compares with her. (Prov 3:15)
Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.(Prov 4:5) (here we are not just enticed or encouraged to seek but commanded! God does that too and we need to listen when he is this serious!)
At the same time, as Job discovers in chapter 28, wisdom cannot be gained by human study of any kind, it is from the Lord. The men who advised him did not have it (according to God himself, he says that of them at the end of Job), and Job had heard of it but had not seen it yet.
For the LORD gives wisdom;From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Prov 2:6)
The LORD by wisdom founded the earth,By understanding He established the heavens.(Prov 3:19)
Counsel is mine and sound wisdom;I am understanding, power is mine.(Prov 8:14)
And these words seem to echo Job 28:
Surely I am more stupid than any man, And I do not have the understanding of a man. Neither have I learned wisdom, Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His son's name? Surely you know! Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar. (Prov 30:2-4)
For Job reflects:
"But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 'Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. '"
He even takes a few verses to mention specific gems and precious metals of earthly fortune that cannot compare giving the word picture and enticing of Proverbs that what man desires most and enjoys so highly, cannot compare to this delight.
Another important parallel though is found in verse 22:
Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’
I found this astounding because the Word tells us : "We were dead in our trespasses and sin...but you have been made alive in Christ" (my paraphrase of Eph 2)
Because of our state of death we can only hear of wisdom and it's pleasures. Only God, through Christ now to us who came after his coming (and through faith credited to them as righteousness as in Jobs day) can open our eyes to see wisdom. At the end of Job this is the very conclusion of Job himself when he says:
I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Job 42:5
Job has passed from death into life. God has let him move beyond hearing into seeing. Even in his state of knowing how great God was, it was not enough to convict his heart to repentance. God brought him to that place (through his suffering) to see that God was wise and that he desired that delightful part of God.
Now, here is the amazing thing about wisdom that ties it in with our discussion on happiness. Our fallen-ness does not keep us from God's wisdom. Even if we were never interrupted with the fall of man, we would not comprehend these things. The moment we understand fully the wisdom of God, we will be his equal. Now, let your mind stretch around this one.....
You will (if you are redeemed) spend now and all of eternity receiving new pleasures and delights from God's wisdom. You will never reach the end. THAT is how wise God is. THAT is what blew Job's mind to realize. THAT is what led him to repent. Yet, the part I feel we are missing out on as Christians is the continual seeking and desiring as for hidden treasure.
My friend Amy made one of the most pertinents observations in the comments from part 2 and I don't know if you caught it. She mentioned this verse:
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)
She went on to mention that we know from the Word EVERYWHERE else, who is positioned at the right hand of the Father. It is our savior, Jesus Christ. He is associated with our pleasure and pleasure is something we seek, yet we never attain.
An aspect of joy within Christianity is that it has become more defined as quiet trust, dependence and hope, supernatural delight so to speak (and yes, these are my personal definitions in my mind). The scripture continually uses the language "that your joy may be full" or "restore to me the joy of my salvation". The part of this that we, I, am missing in my walk with the Lord, is that though joy is continual in the ways I defined above, it is missing the element of being continually filled and restored. That is the part that happiness brings into joy that is to crucial to throw out.
So, this was where my thoughts were wondering, and rabbit trailing, and then coming back together. I find that all is connected and all is on it's own as well. The Word of God is amazing that way. But, I wanted to cover these aspects of what happened to Job and the issue of the parallel of the wisdom of God before moving on to the topic of enjoying God. I honestly don't know where I'm going, I'm just enjoying the ride as God brings it along.
On this trail I'm hiking came a quote my friend Donna posted to our C.S. Lewis reading club that my husband and I are in. It is from St. Augustine I believe:
"Humans love many different things and when they seem to have all that they desire, we are accustomed to call them happy. But we can be happy only if we are loving what ought to be loved. Happiness does not consist simply in having what we happen to love. We sometimes are made more unhappy by having what we love than in not having it. When unhappy persons love something hurtful, they are made even more unhappy."
I am tickled by the circles we go in just in that quote! You can truly get logically dizzy you know! It does happen! Yet, I love it. :) And, hey, at least you are along for the ride!
I really liked the quote, and in response to it and something I said about it my friend Alyce commented back to me and I so appreciate her sharing that she was struggling with the concept! Struggling is good because it's movement toward seeking!
"Alicia, I thought of you when I read this. Lewis said so much better what I was wrestling with. 'To pursue being happy can be disastrous, because our natural bent is so self centered, and we love ourselves so much that we go for the wrong things. But to love God results in the happiness we so long for. Happiness should be the result, not the goal.'"
This has been a light bulb moment for me! Thank you btw Alyce for that, and thank you again Lewis! It is a key breakthrough to these discussions . It's the part I have perhaps been missing.
Happiness is not our goal, it is God's goal for us! We don't have to worry about being happy! We don't' have to seek it, we have to seek him! We don't have to seek our desires, we have to seek Him! At His right hand are pleasures forevermore, our Christ Jesus, full of wisdom and truth (full meaning as God is! God made flesh once again...all ties together people!). So, perhaps the originating statement bothered me ("happiness is not God's goal for us") because the Holy Spirit in me knew that it WAS!
Okay, get ready....we are going to circle again....
We do have to seek Him, we do have to desire Him, we do have to find pleasure and enjoy him, NOT happiness, HIM. Why? Because He is our happiness! His goal for us is Himself resulting in our happiness and Himself resulting in our righteousness.
Are you dizzy now? If you are not....read it again..LOL!
So, do you? Do I? Seek, desire, enjoy?
This is the verse on my heart to talk about next "Taste and see that the Lord is good"
What is our trip up? What do we do instead? The world goes to empty wells of happiness, and we may struggle with that too, but what else keeps us specifically as Christians, from craving more pleasure from God? What does it have to do with Christ?
3 comments:
I love that you linked wisdom with happiness and joy. The wisest and richest man in the Bible(Solomon) speaks a great deal about happiness and joy in Ecclesiastes. Basically, he's tried every way he can think of to find happiness and joy: laughter, wine, embracing folly, undertaking great projects (building houses, gardens, vineyards), owning lots of things, even having a harem. (Ch. 2:1-9)
He says, "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired" (2:10). He even says he took delight in his work (temporary happiness). But after he looked at all he had done and amassed, he simply called it meaningless.
Also in Ch. 2, Solomon says, "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?" (v. 24,25).
Ecclesiastes is a book of circular logic, so I'm sure you like it. :) Basically, life is both happiness and sorrow. That does not change. We should feel free to enjoy the things that are enjoyable and mourn the things that are sorrowful. Here's some more from chapter 11:
"Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many." v. 7,8
Solomon ends the entire book with this:
"...here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." v. 13,14
So, we are free to let our emotions go with us on the ups and downs of life, as long as in doing that, we are still keeping his commandments.
(Sorry this was so long...it's like a mini blog post.)
Erin, no! Don't apologize for it being long. I am so glad you shared. I loved what you had to say. I think that would be a good read for sure. Though I may have to take a break on the dizzy after this. Acually, and ironically, I think we head into Exodus next so the deep stuff may get lighter for a while:) Then the law....yeah, that will be fun.:)
Isn't it incredible that though Solomon had been given wisdom like no other man, he decided to try out all earthy pleasures anyway? Talk about circles...I just don't get that. I'm sure it has a purpose because God used it so much in His word but I just see the wisest thing being just keeping a simple lifestyle and seeking very little in the way of the world. Yet, he does the opposite. It's a mystery I'll have to ponder on some other tangent:)
You got my head spinning. I will have to think on this a while.
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