How to Enjoy Your Relationship with God

Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. I get to read every Crossing blog post, listen to every Ten Minute Bible Talks podcast episode, and sit beside some of the wisest people I know. On top of that, I get to connect people to Jesus through social media for a living. It’s the best.

I was an eager 22-year-old when I started working at The Crossing. (Full transparency, I’m only 23 and three-quarters now). I spent so much of my workday consuming biblical content, that I felt like I was burning out fast. Not on work, but on God.

While on a walk with my friend Tanya (who also happens to be a TMBT host), I explained how I just couldn’t get myself to complete my normal quiet time.

“I’m too tired to inductively study the Bible!” I whined.

“Well, Celia, there are other ways to connect with God. It doesn’t always have to be an in-depth study.”

My mind was blown. This was so simple yet groundbreaking for me.

She went on to explain how my relationship with God is just that: a relationship. Relationships go through different waves and seasons. “Relationships,” she said, “are meant to be enjoyed. You can enjoy God.”

And thus, I made it my mission to learn how to fully enjoy God – and it’s been so much fun that I want to share! So, here is my working list of how you can enjoy God more thoroughly.

1. Surround yourself with community.

I know, I know, everyone says community is important. Well, spoiler alert, it is. Being surrounded by people you enjoy, makes it so much easier to enjoy God. In fact, when Paul writes to the Romans, he explains how he longs to see his friends in Rome so that they could be “mutually encouraged by one another’s faith.” If Paul, who came face to face with Jesus and wrote the majority of the New Testament, needed community around him, then so do you.

This is definitely easier said than done. So, if you want some tips on building community, this blog post is a great place to start.

2. Find time to rest.

Matthew 11 tells us Jesus’s burden is easy, and his yoke is light. Which, plainly, means stop trying so hard. (I’m talking to you, eager 23-year-old. You can’t carry everything on your own. You barely even understand how insurance works.) By relying on God, you can rest in the fact that he’s got a hold on everything. What could this look like in your time with God? I like the way John Mark Comer puts it in his book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry:

“Here’s to tomorrow morning, six o’clock. Time to breathe. A psalm and story from the Gospels. Hearing the father’s voice. Pouring out my own. Or just sitting, resting. Maybe I’ll hear a word from God that will alter my destiny; maybe I’ll just process my anger over something that’s bothering me. Maybe I’ll feel my mind settle like untouched water; maybe my mind will ricochet from thought to thought, and never come to rest. If so, that’s fine. I’ll be back, same time tomorrow. Starting my day in the quiet place.”

Resting in God allows space to enjoy God because it takes the pressure and focus off you. No hate to the inductive Bible study method or Bible-in-a-year plans, but what would your relationship with God be like if your quiet time looked less like a to-do list and more like a catch-up session with a friend?

3. Play hard.

This year, I had the opportunity to study the Sabbath practice with my small group. As I read through Dan Allender’s Sabbath, one word popped out to me again and again: delight.

“The core of delight is our capacity to worship, to create and enter beauty as a reminder and anticipation of God’s goodness.”

One way to do this is through play. Play can look like a lot of things. To me, it looks like going on runs and discovering new neighborhoods, overlooks, and streets. And it also looks like tending to my flower garden. To you, it could look like painting, listening to music, or playing a board game. What matters most is intentionality.

What goes through your head when you play? Here are a few prayers that lead me to delight in God while I play:

God, show me something new about your character.

Reveal your beauty and goodness to me.

Let [this run, this game, these flowers, etc.] help me to love you more.

Lord thank you for giving me a body and mind that can [play, run, listen, see, move, etc.].

4. Remember.

This one is my go-to practice when I feel like I’m stuck in a rut with God. Allow me to paint a picture:

Israel just crossed the Jordan River and is entering the promise land. They’ve been wandering in the wilderness for decades and waiting to arrive here. After they cross the Jordan, the Lord tells Joshua to have twelve men put down stones to serve as a sign among them. Then Joshua says:

“In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

Long story short, Israel documented God’s faithfulness, his movement, his good work in their lives.

You can (and should) do this too.

Every month (or quarter or year), take a step back to reflect on the passed time. Where has God been faithful to you? How has he answered your prayers? What lessons has he taught you? Who/what has he put in your life that you’re thankful for? Write these answers down on a piece of paper. Hang it up somewhere you see regularly. Allow this paper to act as your “memorial stone.”

John Piper reminds us in Desiring God that God wants us to delight in him, to desire him, to find him sweet and lovely. My prayer for you is that through community, rest, play, and remembrance, you would come to do just that.