Is it really possible to enjoy God on any given day? You might be thinking ‘Yeah sure, on Sundays or during times when life is generally OK, that’s when I can enjoy God’ but what about time of difficulty?
Can you enjoy God when the car breaks down on the way to your holiday, or when you’re just about to go into a doctor’s appointment, or can you enjoy God when the world seems to be crumbling at your ankles?
So often the answer to that question depends on what’s going on in life at the time. It’s easy to enjoy God after a great Sunday of hearing God’s Word, of being gathered with His people and of rejoicing in God’s goodness, but how often does that change on a Monday morning?
Tim Chester starts off his book with that scenario; a couple wake up on a Monday morning and are thinking about the previous day and how God felt so close, but then things start going wrong, life throws difficulties their way and they quickly forget about the Sunday. This is often the case for many Christians.
Enjoying God is full of the glorious truths about our Triune God, but it is not a complicated explanation of the Trinity, rather it is a book that testifies to how the glorious truths about our God can lead to us enjoying Him (Yes that is allowed!). Enjoying God doesn’t mean that you’ll be smiling and dancing as you struggle, it doesn’t mean that you’ll never have a problem in life and it doesn’t mean that you’ll be singing in the rain, but it does mean that your whole life will be put into perspective and that you’ll see the powerful and present God who is in control and who cares.
The book helpfully returns to the story of the couple at the end of every chapter and puts into practice what he’s been talking about, each chapter ends with a little action that he encourages the reader to do each week to help them grow in their enjoyment of God. One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book is that it focuses on the Trinity in a practical and challenging way, but it is not a Systematic Theology analysis of the Doctrine of the Trinity.
At the beginning of the book Chester asks a challenging question…
“With which member of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son or God the Spirit – do you have the strongest sense of a lived, experienced relationship?”
I say that this is a challenging question, because I don’t think that I have ever sat down and thought about it. I have always looked at God, and by that understood that I’m thinking about the three persons of the Trinity, and thought of the amazing privilege I have of being in a relationship with Him but ‘breaking the Trinity down’ was a really helpful thing to do. Thinking of each member of the Trinity and how to relate to them shows areas in our life, thinking and theology where growth is needed.
This book touches on many different themes – God’s discipline and works, the relationship within the Trinity and with humanity, who we were before we believed in God and who we are now – just to mention a few. It brings in great theologians and Bible truths and grounds them into your everyday life.
Tim Chester has written over 40 books ranging from short devotionals and Bible reading books, to Christian living and practical books about doctrine. Enjoying God is a great book because it focuses our enjoyment not on our own feelings, which is always the temptation, but it lifts our eyes to see the glory of God and the privilege and opportunity we have to enjoy Him.
If you want a book that is an easy read, gospel-centred, full of biblical truth and focused on God pick this up and enjoy. I whizzed through it a morning and an afternoon but the truths that it reminded me of will not be forgotten. Our God is Great and to be enjoyed!
Rating 4/5
The book is available at: https://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/enjoying-god?bsid=132
About the author:
Tim Chester is a pastor at Grace Church, Boroughbridge, UK; a faculty member of Crosslands Training; and is the author of over 30 books. He has a PhD in theology and was previously Research and Policy Director for Tearfund UK. He has been an adjunct lecturer in missiology and reformed spirituality. Tim is married to Helen and has two daughters.
Blog: http://www.timchester.co.uk
Twitter: @timchestercouk
Chalmers' Blog 