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When we are most satisfied in Him, God receives the most glory from His children. Everything that happens to us comes from the hand of our gracious God and is designed to draw us to Him and

satisfy us in Him. Pursuing our own happiness in God is not selfish or self-centered, but rather essential to living a God-honoring Christian life. We most glorify God when we are joyful.

God will not receive the glory He desires and rightfully deserves from us unless we experience this joy. We are not here simply to love and serve God out of obligation, but out of great joy!

Joy in God is practical, and it will help us persevere in the face of adversity and suffering. KEY CONCEPTS MOST GLORY, MOST SATISFIED > “God is not worshiped where He is not treasured 

and enjoyed.” > (p. 22) In our enjoyment of Him, God is glorified. Deriving our joy from and from God is how we bring the most glory to Him. God has given us the gift of Himself by

adopting us for Himself in Christ (Eph. 1:5). We are designed to appreciate and savour gifts, and God is our ultimate source of joy. The Psalms portray God as the only one who can completely

and eternally satisfy us (Psa. 42:1–2; 63:1). Pursuing satisfaction in God glorifies Him because He is the only one who can satisfy. When we seek satisfaction in other areas of life, we are

not glorifying God. Pursuing our ultimate fulfilment outside of Him is a sin. As a result, as His children, we are to imitate Him and find our fulfilment in Him alone in all aspects of

life. Our individual and corporate worship are ways for us to be satisfied in Him. Prayer is a way for us to find joy in God and ask Him to walk with us through our trials and suffering. God

uses suffering to force us to rely on Him as our ultimate source of satisfaction. There is nothing God cannot or will not use to assist us in finding our satisfaction in Him. COMPLETELY

SATISFIED > “Don’t care about earthly reward; look to the heavenly reward > — namely, the infinite joys of being a son of God.” (p. 195) Every aspect of our lives has been designed by

God so that we will be satisfied in Him. This is known as Christian Hedonism. All of life, from the moment of our conversion until we die or Jesus returns, is an opportunity to be satisfied

in God. Worship, love, Bible reading, praying, how we spend our money, our marriages, missions, and how we suffer are all designed to bring us joy in God. They either reveal whether or not

we are satisfied with God. When God is the source of our happiness, it affects how we spend money and how we treat our spouses. Money, which we all require, is a powerful indicator of where

we seek fulfilment. The Christian who is most content in and with God will freely and joyfully spend their money as God directs. They realise that their true reward is in heaven, not on

earth. Money is a gift from God that allows us to use it for His glory, which anyone who is joyfully satisfied in God will do. Marriage was created by God for pleasure. Each spouse seeks

pleasure in the pleasure of their spouse, but this only works if they both find ultimate pleasure in God. Christ bought His bride, the church, for the joy that was set before Him (Heb.

12:2). Marriage is intended to be a joyful imitation of Christ’s relationship with the church. Marriage brings joy to both husband and wife because God desires it to be so. God is a joyful,

happy God who wants His children to be joyful and happy as well. He gives us Himself and opportunities to be satisfied in Him throughout our lives. The pursuit of this pleasure is central to

the Christian life. JOYFUL CHILDREN > “Saving faith is the confidence that if you sell all you have and > forsake all sinful pleasures, the hidden treasure of holy joy will > 

satisfy your deepest desires.” (p. 73) In the Christian life, the Bible has a lot to say about self-denial. Many Christians believe that the Bible is the purpose of the Christian life since

it says so much. In this frame of thinking, pursuing pleasure and satisfaction in life is selfish, and can only signify that someone is not denying self. Delight in God, on the other hand,

motivates us to care for others in a way that honours God, which enhances and multiplies our joy. Our joy in God overflows as we joyfully meet the needs of others. This occurs in our

families, workplaces, and among our friends. When we are seeking God’s pleasure, we love our neighbour the most. There is also joy in loving and meeting the needs of others. The husband

finds happiness in the happiness of his wife. He loves her best when his love is motivated by his joy in God, which leads him to meet his wife’s needs, which makes her happy. God made it

this way because He desires happy, joyful children. We give up our rights for the sake of others’ happiness, which paradoxically results in our own happiness. Our joy in God is the

foundation of this. If we miss this, pursuing someone else’s joy in order to gain our own will be selfish, not selfless. We deny ourselves in order to make our neighbour happy. When we are

content in God, we can find our happiness and joy in the happiness and joy of others. Love the summary? Support the author and this blog by purchasing the book from Book Depository — FREE

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