Thursday, August 1, 2019

Joy and Delight - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 108:1-5,

"My heart, O God, is steadfast;
    I will sing and make music with all my soul.
Awake, harp and lyre!
    I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, higher than the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
    let your glory be over all the earth."

As David makes his plea to the Lord for his aid, he begins with these verses. As I read them the prevailing thought in my mind is the joy David had in the Lord. Not some kind of "ginned-up" joy put on display to fulfill some misguided obligation in a worship service or whatever, but a genuine, sincere, heartfelt and inescapable joy that overtakes us when we set our hearts and minds on the Lord.

Reading the Scriptures, ruminating in them, meditating on the amazing things the Lord has done, recognizing his fingerprints all over the creation, contemplating and reflecting on the transcendent qualities he manifests all bring that sincere and passionate joy David felt.

True joy springs from the fulfillment of delight we were designed by God to experience - and that comes from delighting ourselves in the Lord! "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4.

Considering the political season we are in and all the "stuff" we see in the news, couldn't we all use as much of this as we can? I know I can.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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