Our True Delight
What do you delight in? What do you treasure? On what do your mind and thoughts tend to dwell? What topics are you excited by and your conversations drawn to? You see, the ways in which we choose to spend our time and money, the natural tendencies of our conversations, and the things we run towards for relief, recovery or distraction, often go a long way to revealing the true answers to those questions. Do the patterns of your life demonstrate a delight in the things of God- His Word, the Gospel, your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? Or are your affections and focus more consumed by the temporary things of this world? A Career? Relationship? Hobby? Perhaps a role that you are unrightly finding your identity and worth through?
Psalm 1 paints us a picture of a life correctly aligned when it says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his DELIGHT is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night”. Christian, do you delight in the law of the Lord? Delight is defined as a high degree of gratification and pleasure or extreme satisfaction. Is your life marked by a pattern of obedience and joy through the time and meditation that you spend on the life-giving words of Scripture and life-changing work of Christ?
When our focus shifts from the paltry, unfulfilling pursuits that this world has to offer us, and is correctly placed on the majesty and holiness of God Almighty, our appetites change. Our souls long for the satisfying nourishment that comes through the truth of Scripture and wells up into eternal life through Christ.
Psalm 1 continues with its description of the blessed man, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” When we find our delight in the Lord, our lives become characterized by stability and fruitfulness. We become anchored to the truth and not subject to the shifting sands and empty satisfaction that is found in the things this world deems important. We grow up into spiritual maturity and bear fruit in keeping with repentance, which then also allows us to enjoy the good gifts that the Lord has placed in our lives without finding our identity and purpose through them. As our affections and delight are correctly ordered, we can join with the Psalmist in Psalm 19 in saying “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer”. Church, find your delight in the Lord… only He can satisfy.
