To enjoy means to find pleasure, take delight or find satisfaction from, in, or with someone or something. Sometimes that is easy to do, while at other times it is not.

Take Stock

After God created the heavens and the earth, light and darkness, land and water, sun and moon, galaxies and stars, plants and animals and mankind, he declared that everything that he’d made was very good. 

Can you imagine how giddy God must have been after he’d created all he’d created? Like a parent who waits to see the pleasure on their kids’ face when they open a gift, God’s creation is his gift to us; things to unwrap, be surprised by and enjoy.  

There was also a very wise guy by the name of Solomon who once said, “Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now.” How wise of Solomon. His words are as applicable today as they were centuries ago.  

Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that what I’ve been given has been given by God for my enjoyment. But God does not give out of obligation, nor with any strings attached. He gives for our pleasure, our satisfaction, and our delight. 

As adults, we may have to give ourselves time to remember how to enjoy what we’ve been given and taking stock in who or what surrounds us presently is a good place to begin. 

Do we have the capacity to drive a car, take a walk, sit outside in the sun, swim for exercise, or sleep in a bed?  Can we afford to buy groceries, can we cook a meal, do we taste our food, can we see the stars, speak to a friend and breathe without the aid of a ventilator? If so, do we find pleasure, enjoyment or relish these mundane yet critical facts to our lives or do we fail to appreciate them at all? 

Taking time to relish moments in our day can dim the focus on the things that we don’t have, the things we are still waiting for and the things we worry about. 

Why bother to enjoy what we’ve been given? God’s already given us everything to enjoy, but enjoying what’s been given is up to us.