One of the greatest lines of any book I've ever read sums up the whole of Christian ministry, "Missions exists because worship doesn't." (John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad). The entire Christian life is a call to enjoyment, savoring, satisfaction, and awe of the Lord Jesus. An immature faith stops at the word "obedience" never realizing the joy of it all, that obedience is not a burden for the one who has faith in Christ (1 John 5:3). Rather, salvation includes being given a new set of fundamental desires.
We are called to have a joy in Christ that transcends circumstance. Consequently, we would expect this to radically affect our understanding of God's calling. As we discern his will, one question that is so obvious that it's shocking how much I've overlooked it is this: in what would I most find myself enjoying God. This is to be distinguished from God's circumstantial blessings; I'm referring to enjoying God HIMSELF, which means that I don't call something His will because I'd really enjoy the benefit of a few added comforts. In that capacity I easily enjoy his gifts more than Him. For example, I have found an incredible awareness and availability of God in some circumstances more than others. There are certainly personality dynamics involved, but not only.
Where God calls you, He aims to be savored above every competing pleasure. If a situation is too tempting for me, because it fosters jealousy, vanity, envy, gluttony, etc., then I will invariably find my joy diminished. In some circumstances, we find His giftings of us in rhythm with His work around us. A range of factors affect this. On a future blog, I've address how we must examine how weakness to see God's will and its effect on our ability to enjoy in one situation or another.
