Delighting in the Word of God

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    Delight is a beautiful word, isn't it?  I love it!  It quickly brings to mind anything that I love and enjoy in this world.  Restful, happy times with loved ones, a favorite coffee or tea, favorite comfy chair, the mountains, the beach, a favorite food, great music, comfy clothes, ... the list goes on of things that bring me delight.  I am sure each of us have a unique and personal list of things we thoroughly enjoy.  What we delight in typically brings us great happiness and peace to our mind and soul. What I delight in is something that I enjoy spending time with, that I look forward to with great anticipation.  When it is gone, it leaves an emptiness, or feelings similar to grief and sadness.  Our minds immediately start thinking of when the next time will be that we can experience that delight again and how to make that happen.  

    Multiple times in Scripture we see men and women of God stating that their "delight" is in the Word of God.  Is this the way you view God's Word?  Is it a delight to you?  I confess, it hasn't always been a delight to me.  There were years where I treated it as a boring old book that we ought to read.  Even when I knew what a treasure it was and had witnessed the delight others had in the Word, it wasn't always a joy for me to pick up my Bible and dive in. Praise God, His Word has become a source of great delight to me.  

The prophet Jeremiah was given a the task to warn Israel of the coming consequences of their sin.  He was met with ridicule, argumentation and every sort of opposition and contempt, despite being a man of humility and peace.  The reaction from the people hurt him to the core.  He takes his pain and sorrow to God, and in the midst of pouring out his soul to God, he reminds himself (and God) that God's words were the source of his greatest delight, and that he had the greatest honor of being called a son of God.  

Your words were found and I ate them,

And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;

For I have been called by Your name,

O Lord God of hosts.

Jeremiah 15:16

    The Psalmist mentions this same type of relationship with the Lord several times as well.  Psalm 119 repeats this terminology over and over.  The very first Psalm describes the man who is blessed as he takes delight in the law of the Lord (verse 2).  

    What brings us delight from the Word of God? Jesus! From Genesis to Revelation we are learning about the Son of God, about His character, His purpose for Creation, and His redemption plan!  The book of I Peter is written to believers scattered everywhere, and Peter is telling them that Jesus Christ is their source of joy and living hope.  In I Peter 1:8 he tells them:

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

"Inexpressible and glorious joy" -- that sounds like delight to me!   

 How do we make the Word of God our delight? First, we realize that God Himself places that love for His Word in our hearts.  Psalm 119: 18 guides us to pray for God to "Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things out of your law."  Praying to the source of that delight should be continually in our hearts each time we open the precious book.  We can pray confidently, knowing that God takes delight in the desire to learn of Him. 

    Then, we simply take time to read and study the Scriptures.  When I began to see Jesus and the Gospel story woven throughout the Bible, I began to fall in love with the beauty of God's Word.  It is humbling and amazing to read about the holiness of God and the greatness of His love for His creation (which includes me and you!) The Word of God is alive and powerful.  God works through the reading and study of His Word. You can trust Him to bring about the delight in your heart as you open your heart to learn of Him. 

    My prayer is that we will find delight in God's Word. 

💓Heather Sparks💓

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