The Alpha of Enjoyment

UV 3015/10000 The Alpha of Enjoyment
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy
I Timothy 6 v 17

The living God is not a joy-killer but a joy-filler. He desires to fill our hearts and minds and lives with joy. This is the reason that when the Earth was desolate and lifeless like the other eight planets in the solar system, He re-formed the earth to make it sustain life and gave all things to man to master, rule and enjoy. When man sinned and fell short of knowing who is the living God, the Lord and Giver of Life sent Jesus, the foreordained Messiah and part of Himself, to redeem mankind, grant eternal life and eternal promises that our joy might be full. This uni-verse states that He has given us richly all things to enjoy. We are not to misplace our confidence in the riches which are uncertain in this lifetime and of no use in the next. History records more cases of riches to rags than rags to riches but no man who has been faithful has ever gone hungry. The Lord will send ravens to feed him if it is needed. Our sense of identity, our source of power, our source of wisdom, our source of security, our source of pleasure and pride should therefore be the Lord and His word and not worldly wealth.
Very often in life, we fail to enjoy all the things we have at the thought and in the pursuit of the one thing we lack. We need to not only count our blessings but also make our blessings count. We may not be rich but we are richly blessed just to be alive and to enjoy the blessings the Lord has given us. We are to be rich towards the Lord in prayer, in intake of the Word of God, in praise, worship and thanksgiving. Abraham was rich in silver, gold and cattle but he set his heart not on these uncertain earthly riches but on the Lord. His faith in Jehovah and trust in His promise was his source of confidence and strength.
We can enjoy or use to satisfy our needs and the needs of others, God-given wealth but we are not to be covetous, status conscious, proud of possessions, revelling in our earthly wealth. We are to ever thankful for whatever the Lord has bestowed on us this far. We should not allow our joy or happiness to coincide with our possession of increased riches. We can be glad and thankful when the Lord grants us an increase but every increase should not see us rely less and less on the Living God. We should know that earthly riches are not going to buy us peace, health, joy or eternal life. We are totally dependent on the Lord for all the priceless blessings of life. We should therefore. not glory or exalt ourselves on the basis of mundane wealth, fame or power or position but instead glory in the fact that we have a personal bond or relationship with the Living God. Whatever we own, we receive as a gift from the Lord. We rejoice in the Giver and not the gifts. We acknowledge that what the Lord has given, He can also take away as happened in the case of Job.