Friday, October 16, 2009

Bring Joy to Yourself in the Bible

A partial definition of the urgent command to “delight yourself in the lord” is to delight yourself in the Bible.

Psalm 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

There is safety and satisfaction and joy to be found in his word.

Ps 119:16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

Very practically let me say how this works: If I am not, on a regular basis, finding truth that satisfies and fortifies my soul so much that I cannot help but share that truth when I am in conversation with friends and family, then I need to be engaging one question and one prayer…

What is wrong with my soul and how can I fix it?
God, would you retrain my eyes on your word and satisfy my soul with things so good that I hear myself sharing them in conversation and pondering them when alone with my thoughts.

This is a measure of how much joy I have “in the lord” and it is a more important diagnostic tool than any test administered at the hospital.

Pr 18:14 The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit?

1 comment:

Theresa said...

Sometimes the doubting Thomas in me is tempted (by Satan!) to think it's all just propaganda. But the Word of God is truth and thankfully the Spirit of God reminds me that I can stake my life on it. What a terrifying place I would be in if I didn't believe it!