O for Grace to Love Him More!

This is the devotional book that Bert and I try to read together before bed each night.  Thomas Watson was a Puritan in England in the 1600's and we like him a lot.  One night we thought the devotional was especially dynamite, so I wanted to share some of its contents here.  Read on if you dare...

So shall we ever be with the Lord. 

1 Thessalonians 4:17

We shall not only have God's glorious presence at certain special seasons, but we shall be continually in His presence, continually under divine raptures of joy.  There shall not be one minute in heaven wherein a glorified soul may say, "I do not enjoy happiness."  The streams of glory are not like the water of a conduit, often stopped, so that we cannot have one drop of water; but those heavenly streams of joy are continually running.  We should hate this valley of tears where we are now, for the mount of transfiguration instead!  How we should long for the full enjoyment of God in Paradise!  If we could see that land of promise, we should need patience to be content to live here any longer.

Let this be a spur to duty.  How diligent and zealous should we be in glorifying God, that we may come at last to enjoy Him?  If anything can make us rise off our bed of sloth and serve God with all our might, it should be this, the hope of our near enjoyment of God forever....

Let this comfort the godly in all the present miseries they feel.  You complain, Christian, you do not enjoy yourself, fears disquiet you, wants perplex you.  In the day you can not enjoy ease, in the night you can not enjoy sleep; and you do not enjoy the comforts of your life.  Let this encourage you: soon you shall enjoy God, and then you shall have more than you can ask or think; you shall have angels' joy, glory without intermission or expiration.  We shall never enjoy ourselves fully until we enjoy God eternally.