Devotions based on the book Pure Pleasure by Gary Thomas

“Contempt for pleasure, so far from arguing superior spirituality, is actually ….the sin of pride. Pleasure divinely designed to raise our sense of God’s goodness, deepen our gratitude to Him, and strengthens our hope of richer pleasures to come in the next world. “ J. I. Packer.
In Ps. 37:4 we are told to delight in the Lord for He will give us the desires of our heart.
Sometimes when we feel tired and burned out and depressed we may think we need to fast, pray and fast some more. But sometimes the answer is practical and we may need a nap or just go have fun.  We may need to become more intentional in our life to enjoy the God-given pleasures, which can cause us to become more energized, more generous with our time, more patient etc.  When we get stuck the answer may not be more discipline but a Sabbath refreshment!

One way of fighting sin is to build into our lives holy pleasure…like getting together with close friends, having a round of golf, reading a novel etc. We need to feel free to pursue and cultivate and enjoy soul-filling pleasures that will leave us so full that we won’t have much time to dwell on the negative or illicit. But if we feel we must  always sacrifice our own pleasure and never take time for ourselves, our body will suffer the consequences of stress.  And when we don’t get refreshed, others around us will suffer as well!
Today let each of us take time for a pleasure that will fortify our soul, expand our spirit, and enlarge our hearts.