A lot of people think of God as an Almighty Kill-Joy. As if he never wants you to have any fun. As if he wants you to continually flagellate yourself and stick a pin in the balloon of your excitement and happiness.

This is a radical misunderstanding of God. Does God think you should do whatever you want whenever it feels good? Of course not. But despite what you may have thought, God’s commands are so that you can get MORE out of life—not less.

In Jeremiah 7:23 (NIV) we read what God said to the Hebrews as they left Egypt: “Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.”

That it may go WELL with you. The same holds for us today.

Tim Keller says, “You harm yourself when you prioritize anything more than God.”

So…

When we put our jobs before God, we are twisting the order of things and inviting more difficulty into our lives.

When we put our hobbies before God, we are twisting the order of things and inviting more difficulty into our lives.

When we even put our families before God, we are twisting the order of things and inviting more difficulty into our lives.

The more closely you follow his commands, the more you’ll discover that God isn’t the Almighty Joy-Killer, but the Almighty Joy-Giver. He wants you to get MORE out of life—not less.

The Lord isn’t deflating your joy—he’s inflating it.

By Matthew Ruttan