Have you ever wondered if it's possible to be a believer and not truly enjoy God?

In this video, Brian Borgman addresses the notion of believers who may temporarily lose sight of the joy found in God and become ensnared in the pursuit of sin. He refers to biblical examples such as David and Peter, who experienced moments of backsliding. Borgman emphasizes that when a Christian seeks pleasure in sin, they ultimately discover that it cannot satisfy the deep longing within them. Instead, they realize that the sin they pursued is like ill-fitting clothes that leave them feeling empty and unsatisfied. This realization serves as a painful reminder that they are missing out on something far greater—fellowship with God.

However, Borgman cautions that a person who can abandon God and pursue worldly pleasures without feeling the pain of their separation from Him is in a perilous position. Such a lack of conviction may indicate a lack of genuine conversion. Yet, for those who have been truly regenerated, God lovingly intervenes to rescue His backsliding children. Sometimes, God employs warnings of discipline, judgment, or the consequences of sin to draw them back. Other times, He reminds them of His kindness and goodness, allowing them to taste and see that the Lord is indeed good. Through both discipline and kindness, God works to restore His children's fellowship and joy in Him.

Psalm 34:8 (NKJV) beautifully captures the invitation to taste and experience the goodness of the Lord: "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"

Can you be a believer and not enjoy God? Well, I think that it is probably possible for a person to, you know, the old-fashioned word, to backslide and to, in a sense, fall into a path of trying to enjoy sin more than God. And so, you know, I think of David, I think of Peter, you know, sort of the notorious biblical examples. And in a real sense, what ends up happening is that a Christian can become sort of short-sighted and drift off to the far country thinking that there's a greater pleasure. The reality though ends up being that when a Christian does that, they become painfully aware that whatever the sin is or the sins are, they're never going to find the satisfaction of what they're looking for.

In fact, they're going to be painfully aware that this is a suit of clothes that no longer fits them, and they're going to know it. The person who can actually, in a sense, abandon God and pursue the pleasures of this world and not feel that pain is in a very, very, very dangerous place. In fact, that person may well not be converted at all. When a believer does it, he is aware that he's in the far country and there is something that God has put into him or her by regeneration that in a sense makes them realize that I'm actually missing out on something far better when I walk away from God. And so God rescues his backsliding children and sometimes he does it by means of threat, threat of discipline or judgment or the consequences of sin.

But Other times He reminds us that it's His kindness that leads us to repentance, and that we're to taste and to see that the Lord is good, that the Lord is kind. And so God can use that to draw back to Himself.