Book Review | Enjoy: Finding the Freedom to Delight Daily in God’s Good Gifts

enjoy: Finding the Freedom to Delight Daily in God’s Good Gifts by Trillia Newbell was a fantastic read in the midst of the COVID-19 quarantine we’ve been in these last two months. The major gift in the midst of this pandemic has been time. Newbell’s words on enjoying the blessings that the Lord has placed in our lives as we know Him more were such a sweet reminder during this season where I have been able to linger longer over my Bible study and personal reading time.

I highlighted several things while reading and have pasted those notes below….

  • What’s interesting about relationships is that in order to fully enjoy them, we must be focused on others. The moment we begin to focus on what we’re getting out of them or what we want others to do, our joy will die. People will disappoint us; they will fail us and we will fail them. Location: 597
  • The writer of Hebrews urges us: “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled” (12:14–15). Location: 837
  • Keller put it this way: “All work has dignity because it reflects God’s image in us, and also because the material creation we are called to care for is good.” 2 Location: 1,029
  • Our work is significant and good, but we find the greatest freedom to enjoy work in understanding that our satisfaction and joy can only be derived from and through Jesus. Location: 1,039
  • John Piper, in his book Risk Is Right, asserted that a life unwasted is a life that honors Christ, magnifies Christ, and makes much of Christ. He went on to say, There are a thousand ways to magnify Christ in life and death. None should be scorned. All are important. But none makes the worth of Christ shine more brightly than sacrificial love for other people in the name of Jesus. If Christ is so valuable that the hope of his immediate and eternal fellowship after death frees us from the self-serving fear of dying and enables us to lay down our lives for the good of others, such love magnifies the glory of Christ like nothing else in the world. Location: 1,079
  • Fear twists the gospel by saying Jesus’s finished work on the cross was enough for our salvation but not enough for us to finish the race. That’s not what the Word of God says. Rather, “his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3). Because of Jesus, we have access to power through the Spirit. Location: 1,134
  • In their helpful book The Gospel at Work, authors Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert explained how this grace shapes our approach to work: You are free, not to make your work into an idol, but to make it an arena for loving God and loving others. You’re free from the trap of idleness, from growing frustrated and bitter in the difficulties or drudgery your job brings. Your happiness is secured elsewhere; you don’t have to be discouraged that your job isn’t providing it.4 We are free to work to the glory of God! Location: 1,153
  • Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:1–2) Location: 1,234
  • Love transforms hospitality. Location: 1,598
  • God truly is the Giver of all good things. He doesn’t withhold from you now, and he has treasures for you even in the end. Rejoice, enjoy, and delight in the One who is to be treasured forever. Location: 2,841

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