10 Ways to Enjoy God Daily

As an instructor, I find it interesting that many of my students at Christian Life College got this question wrong: which is one of humanity’s main purposes in life? There were three choices, and the correct answer comes from the Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647) which defined the chief end (or goal or purpose) of humanity — to glorify God and ENJOY HIM forever.”¹

Students did not select “Enjoy God.” Instead, they chose answers like “Serve God.” Of course, serving God flows naturally out of a love of God, but the crux of our relationship with our Creator is to enjoy Him.

I had to stop and think about that for a moment… was I simply enjoying God?

I think not.

I have been serving Him. This is not a bad thing, but I have been missing the metanarrative – this whole Christian life was meant for me to enjoy God — to find joy in Him, and live accordingly. How many other Christians, I wonder, have drifted from this simple joy? I would guess I am not the only one.

The word for 2026 for me is ENJOY, and the first few months of this year have been far from it. I have been dealing with issues that were stealing my joy, and finally ended up getting prayer for it. Something broke, and I began feeling joy return.

Now I have to choose joy. So, how do I do that, practically speaking? Here are ten things that I am doing to enjoy God:

1. Reading the Bible for enjoyment.
   I teach the Bible, and so I am usually studying it and developing lectures. But I am consciously trying to just find the joy again by reading for pleasure. And here are some verses that speak of joy:
   
   • “Delight yourself in the Lord, ” Psalm 37:4
   • “Rejoice in the Lord always,” Philippians 4:4
   
   • There is joy found in His presence: Psalm 16:11 describes “fullness of joy”, and Psalm 63:3 notes that God’s love is better than life. More examples includes Psalm 16:5, 43:4 and Isaiah 61:10.
   • There is Joy found in our salvation. Habakkuk 3:18 and Romans 5:11 highlight find joy in God’s salvation. 1 Peter 1:8 emphasizes “inexpressible” joy.
   • Joy is our strength. Nehemiah 8:10 states that “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” This is an interesting verse given its context. The Jewish people had returned from being exiled in Babylong for decades and had just finished rebuilding the broken walls around Jerusalem. They celebrated by reading God’s word, and restored their joy because the relationship with God was restored again.
     • They found joy in their relationship with God rather than their circumstances!
2. The Gospel – the root of deep joy
   • The Good News is, after all, really, really GOOD! (Heaven knows we need some good news these days!) Nothing is better than the righteousness imputed to us by faith in Jesus Christ.
   • Imputed means that you receive His righteousness by faith alone because of what Jesus did on the cross over two thousand years ago — Jesus paid YOUR debt of sin. You don’t have to work for it, you simply believe.
   • It is an everlasting gift.
   • There is NOTHING you can do to make God love you more! You can’t serve Him more, you can’t pray more, you can’t give more, you can’t more anything… He loves you right now, today, as you are reading this.
3. Faith before phone. Resist checking your phone, Lisa (yes, I am talking to myself here). Upon immediately waking, start by saying, “Good morning, God!” Let your thoughts rest in Him first thing in the morning. Spend time with Him – however that looks like to you. For me, it is going into a room near a sunny window and a cup of coffee and listening to soaking worship music and just being present with Him before I pray, before I read the Bible, before I do anything. I just sit and listen to worship music and be still.
4. Breathe and become aware of your senses. Simply taking slow, deep breaths and focusing on the miracle of the life God gave you helps to connect your thoughts to the present moment. Enjoy the smell of your coffee or the feel of your warm blanket. Thank God for these sensory things – sight, smell, touch.
5. Beauty. Everyday find something beautiful to look at. It could be anything that appeals to you, like your garden, a tree, the blue sky above… it’s all God’s design, and it is wonderful.
6. Journaling. Not all of us are writers, but it is good to record things that you believe God has done in your life through answered prayers, provision, peace. Try a voice recording if you don’t want to write it down.
7. Nature walks. Treat a walk as an “appointment with God,” and use that time to marvel at His creation and talk to Him as you would a friend.
8. Worship/Dance/Music. Turn on upbeat music during household chores to stir up the joy!
9. Date Night. Why not take Jesus out for a coffee shop date or to sit at a park solely to sit with God? You could even write Him a love letter, if you’re the poetic type.
10. Jesus Parties! Celebrate milestones like the anniversary of your salvation with a special meal, or bake a cake for Jesus on Christmas to keep the focus on joy.

If none of these things appeal to you, you could enjoy God by simple acts of service. Surprise someone with a gift or an encouraging note. This could bring you joy because you are reflecting God’s generosity to others.

Finally, if nature or parties or serving are not your things, did you know that learning something new actually releases dopamine (the happy hormone). Learn something new and find JOY!

“This is the day the Lord has made – let us REJOICE and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

To learn something new, here are a few good popular-level apologetic books I’d suggest beginning with.

• Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis
• Can We Trust the Gospels? (Peter J. Williams)
• Miracles Today (Craig Keener)

For spiritual formation, here is what I recommend:

• Practicing the Way, by John Mark Comer
• Practicing the Way Website (videos and resources to help you)

1. Limit your online time (via your Samsung phone settings)
2. Read Psalms regularly
3. Pray that the Holy Spirit would “open your eyes to see.”
4. Listen to Soaking Worship music 
5. Practice 2 minutes of silence, asking for Peace (the presence of God)
6. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude

I listen to Soaking Worship by several artists:
1) Eric Gilmore
2) Julie True
3) Nathaniel Coe III

Find JOY in Jesus Christ and share it. Blessings!

1. https://thewestminsterstandard.org/westminster-shorter-catechism/ ↩︎