Did you realize that you were created for maximum pleasure? If you reflect on your life you will most certainly recognize that you have acted for maximum pleasure and minimum pain. It is the way God has created us. The deception that we battle, however, is that we attempt to find maximum pleasure and happiness in those lesser pleasures in life such as money, fame, power, sensual appetites and a myriad of other things. Maximum and enduring pleasure however, is only found in knowing and experiencing the beauty and majesty of God. Only when we have an on-going revelation of His beauty and majesty will we become excited and fascinated in life. Pursuing all other lesser pleasures will ultimately lead to boredom. And since the human soul was not created for boredom we will do everything possible to anaesthetize ourselves from the feelings of boredom.
In the scripture God invites us to satisfy our desire for spiritual pleasure and delight. In Psalm 36:8 it states: “They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.” God wants to satisfy you with his river of delights. He wants to unveil his beauty and majesty to you so that He becomes your treasured possession.
But how does our spiritual appetite for Him increase so that we can experience more of His river of delights? How do we break away and minimize the attraction of the lesser pleasures of life that tend to preclude us from experiencing God’s beauty and majesty? The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:8 “ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” As we focus on Him and His Kingdom the affinity for lesser pleasures in life is decreased and our spiritual appetite for Him increases. As we think and ponder and meditate on Him he begins to transform our emotions and increases our hunger for more of him. In Psalm 16:8 David said “ I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” David was resolute in setting the Lord before him in order to focus on the beauty and majesty of God. This was David’s “orientation of life” as reflected in his powerful statement in Psalms 27:4 “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord…”
It is important to understand that passion for God will whither if it is not expressed. In fact the more we express our joy and delight in Him the more our passion for Him increases. We have all had times in life where we had a delightful experience occur and yet had no one to share it with. There is a frustration in not being able to share our experience with others. This is why worship is so important. As we worship him and ascribe to Him how beautiful, good and majestic he is, it provides the seedbed for even greater experiences of joy in Him.
A great book that may help you better understand and experience the beauty and majesty of God is “Onething, Developing a Passion for the Beauty of God” by Sam Storms.