“…according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ…”

                 It shouldn’t surprise us, but somehow it does.  It cuts across the grain of all those people who say, “If the God of the Old Testament is the kind that commands the indiscriminate slaughter of whole tribes of people minding their own business, then I don’t want to believe in that kind of God!”  Of course, their unbelief is based on selective portions of the Old Testament.  In contrast, what do we discover about the nature of God in Genesis 18 where, through Abraham’s timid but consistent pleading, he says he would spare Sodom if only 10 righteous people were there?  What does that say about the Amorites?  That not even 10 righteous were there.  In fact, not one was there.  At most there were only four in Sodom, and God faithfully got them out.  And what about God’s statements that he has “no pleasure” in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23, 32; 33:11)?  Such an alleged reason for unbelief is simply a smokescreen.

Actually, God is just the opposite, and we seem to miss all too frequently that he is pleasurable.  Run the synonyms: delightful…joyful…happy…thrilling…enjoyable…exciting…agreeable…winsome… cheerful.  You get the idea.

How is it that we forget this?  Well, we live in a fallen world that is under God’s pending judgment.  Obviously pagans existing in such an environment only see God’s “bad” side, that is, the justice that they deserve (Rom. 1:18-20).  To them God is mean, frightening, bad, cruel, bad-tempered and untrustworthy.  After all, how can you trust a God who is “out to get me,” ready to pounce on me the first mistake I make?  Naturally, their own sinfulness and evil hearts further taints such a disposition.  Their lens has been darkened by their own selfishness.  “Consider the source” is good advice when bumping into such foolishness.

Another reason is that knowing God as delightful and pleasurable is to know him up close, in a personal and intimate way.  This is what Jesus described as eternal life (John 17:3) and “life…to the full” (John 10:10).  Life becomes full when we know God — on his “good” side, if you will — when we really know him.  In Ephesians 1 Paul tells us that our salvation is “in accordance with his pleasure and will” (v. 5).  Then in verse 9 he says that God’s will has been revealed to us “according to his good pleasure.”  Since God is good, his pleasure — what he is pleased to do — is likewise good.  And what pleases him he does: “The Lord does whatever pleases him” (Psalm 135:6), and “I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please’” (Isaiah 46:10), and “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him” (Ps. 115:3).

Imagine waking up one morning.  Your plate of things to do is already too full, but you launch out into the day anyway.  Before you know it, things have gone your way so well, that it’s now lunchtime and your whole list is accomplished.  You can take the afternoon off if you wanted!  How would that feel?  Great!  Tremendous!  Fantastic, right?  That’s the way it is with God.  Nothing stops him.  Nothing thwarts his will.  He’s never discouraged.  He doesn’t have “bad hair days.”  But suppose, for just a minute, that he did.  Things don’t work out for him, he keeps getting surprised by what he doesn’t see coming.  That leads to frustration, anger, resentment, moodiness and temper tantrums.  What would it be like spending forever with this God?  Does a “bad hair eternity” sound fun or pleasurable?  Is that what heaven’s all about?

Not at all; just the opposite in fact.  Ps. 16:11 says, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”  Sounds a lot like “life…to the full,” doesn’t it?  Heaven is a delight because God himself is.  That’s where the delight and the pleasures come from.  This is obviously true when we are in heaven in God’s presence, but how about here and now?  Hasn’t God told us (Ephesians 1:3) that he “has been blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ”?  And hasn’t he told us that we “have access to the Father by one Spirit” (2:18)?  And haven’t we heard that we should “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 2:16)?  Yes, yes and yes!

How much delight and pleasure do you experience each day with God?  Does it show in your attitude, your outlook and your work?