Delighting In Him
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
(Psalm 37:4)
In Ruth Myers' "31 Days of Praise: Enjoying God Anew" devotional book, she starts off the 31 days in Day #1 with this statement: "My heart rejoices in you, Lord..."
How often do we approach God in need, crawling to Him exhausted, desperate; crying out in a bad situation - Help, Lord!; shameful, with guilt, confession; doubtful - we feel distant, alone, skeptical...
pssst!
Did you know we can approach God in delight?! Do we actually REJOICE in the Lord? Honestly, do you? You might say, "Thank you, God." Or feel a spiritual stirring in your soul when you see something beautiful. But do we leap and twirl in delight at the thought of our Lord? Are we exuberant over our relationship with Jesus Christ? And if we are, do we express it - do we show and tell Him?
Yes, God is Almighty; Yes, we are told to fear Him; Yes, we are humbled by His magnificence; Yes, we should repent and confess...but how terribly we are missing out on how full of delight our Lord is! Though the Bible does speak of God's judgement and wrath, it also tells us that God IS LOVE. And does not love make you delighted? If a human love relationship can bring you delight and joy, how much grander that of your relationship with the Divine!
As you praise God today, imagine writing a love letter to Him. If you need some help, read almost any of the Psalms. Here are just a few examples:
Psalm 8:
"LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"
Psalm 150:
"Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre, Praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe,
Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD."
Psalm 111:
Praise the LORD. I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Psalm 100:
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."
In your love letter, list all the attributes which has delighted your heart and caused you to fall madly in love with God. Ruth Myers in Day #1 lists her delights as:
- God as shelter in times of trouble
- God as hiding place, resort
- Father who lovingly provides
- Shepherd who guides and protects
- Champion who upholds and defends
- Bridegroom who delights in us
- Mighty to save
- Rejoices over us with singing
- Our inheritance
- The One who satisfies the longing our our souls
- Being wise
- Being loving
- Fulfilling purpose
- Forgiving us
- Being patient with us
And remember that HE delights in US! His delight is to give us the desires of our heart; He delights in us as a bridegroom waiting for His bride:
Psalm 149:4
"For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation."
Zephaniah 3:17
"The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."
Isaiah 62:5
"...as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you."
The more you praise God, the more you please Him, and you will be filled with his Joy, the Holy Spirit in you. On this first day of praise commitment, start exercising your praise muscle by imagining - or actually writing out - a Love Letter to God, filled with delight, and just feel how He dances with you, stirring you, prompting you toward more praise and delight - in Him, as well as all aspects of your life!
PRAISE REPORT:
Renewed Relationship with Scripture
Hebrews 4:12
"For the word of God is alive and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
"Though I was raised a Christian and read many scripture passages growing up - even memorizing some (though by force through my school) - I didn't quite grasp that the Word WAS GOD. I knew this...but I didn't experience it...until I recently joined a Bible Study in which we were reading through the entire Bible, cover to cover. I had never done this before - only reading the particular passage given to me for assignments, or during a sermon.
Whew! I thought. What a dedication! Could I do it? Could I commit to reading every single day? Well, I did. And suddenly, the Bible came ALIVE! Though the characters, stories, miracles - yes...but it was more than that: the words took on deeper meanings; it was as if I were suddenly reading between the lines...they spoke to a part of my brain (or was it my heart) that I did not previously have access to, and I suddenly remembered the passages I'd heard in bygone Sunday school days, making connections, drawing conclusions, cross-referencing...it was...FUN!
What was once a rather dry and tedious requirement of reading scripture suddenly became a delight; I started waking up earlier in the morning so I had extra time to read my Bible before going to work. I listen to my Bible App which has a dictation mode when I take a bath or go to sleep...when I used to read devotionals that referenced scripture, I'd skip over them, thinking I'd gotten the gist of the message in the commentary. But now I eagerly research each passage, exited to see how they relate and connect to the interpretations presented by the authors of my books.
My praise report is over my renewed relationship with His Word, which has deepened my relationship with Christ, who IS THE WORD. I am thrilled that these words on a page that were once just flat, dead print have come alive to me, dancing their way poetically into my soul.
Praise God for the Living Word - the Bible, and His Son! Praise God for my Bible Study, and for the strength and perseverance He gave me to dive in. "Knock and the Door Shall be Opened unto You." Thank you, Lord for fulfilling that promise, opening the doors of our Word unto me. "
Learn more about the 31 Days of Praise
Submit a Praise Report to: promisebiblestudy@gmail.com