On This Sunday… in what do you delight?
Doesn’t this picture of ice cream in a white chocolate covered bowl with sprinkles look delightful?
Give it just one second to melt a little and this would be perfect!
Don’t you agree? It’s hard not to delight in this bowl of ice cream.
Bigger picture though than simply ice cream… in what do you delight?
In What Do You Delight?
In the very first psalm of the Book of Psalms, we are confronted with this question. In what do you or what do I delight?
1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper. (Psalm 1:1-3)
Let me highlight just a few key thoughts here:
- Oh the happiness of the man… – the Bible describes the truly happy or blessed person as the one who lives in the way the psalmist describes.
- The truly happy person lives a separated life. In the remainder of verse 1, the psalmist describes the truly blessed person as one who chooses to not live by the world’s plans, the world’s lifestyle, and the world’s values.
- Instead, the truly happy person delights in the Word of the Lord and in His Word he or she meditates.
- When this is true, the Word of God grants the happy person stability through the pressures of life.
Let’s Take My Ice Cream as an Example
The more I eat ice cream; the more I want ice cream. It is an interesting circle.
Compare ice cream with good yogurt. If I am eating ice cream regularly, yogurt does not taste good at all. In fact, yogurt can’t compare to good ice cream.
However, when I am not eating ice cream regularly, nor am I eating lots of sugar, yogurt can be truly delightful.
In other words, the more I choose to not eat sugar nor enjoy a good bowl of ice cream, the more my desire grows for yogurt. In fact, when I eat only yogurt, I love it. But as long as it competes with ice cream regularly, I will not sense the delight in the yogurt.
One last thought…if I am seeking to change over to delighting in yogurt instead of ice cream for my health’s sake, then I need to be around those who also delight in yogurt. If instead I am only around those who love ice cream, then I am going to be much more encouraged to eat ice cream rather than yogurt. On the other hand, if I am around those who love and delight in yogurt as well, the transition between ice cream and yogurt will go much more smoother.
In What Do You Delight?
We ask the question again, In what do you delight?
If you say, “I delight in the Word of God,” then I would suggest that you must be doing something to build that delight.
If you say, “I do not delight in the Word of God,” then I would suggest that you will not until you say no to the world’s plans, lifestyle, and values.
In many ways, this battle focuses on your lifestyle similar to ice cream. If you have immersed yourself in the world right now, the Bible will not feel delightful. Oh yes, you will find the Bible delightful because it is. However, you will not want it exclusively nor crave it in this moment, if your taste is flavored by your intake of the world.
Although there is intense delight in God’s Word, you will not experience that delight unless you have removed yourself from the world. The world’s planning, lifestyle, and values will keep you from truly delighting in God’s Word.
On This Sunday… Evaluate Your Delight
As a follower of Christ on the Sunday, let me encourage you to evaluate your delight. If you are struggling with your desire to either go to church or listen to a church service live, let me suggest it may be that you are too connected to the world right now.
The way to build your delight in what is already delightful – God’s Word – begins in your taste. If your planning, lifestyle, and values resemble the world’s, then you are going to struggle with your desire.
Step one – choose the Word of God rather than something else. The Word of God truly is delightful in its own character. If you make this choice, you choose what is truly delightful.
Step two – seek to evaluate what you truly delight in rather than God’s Word and repent of that. The way to know that you currently delight in some part of the world’s planning, lifestyle, and planning is to check it against your delight for the Word.
Step three – choose to be around God’s people today. If you choose isolation or neglect to take time to be with God’s people – those who also delight in God’s Word, you will continue to struggle.
On this Sunday… in what do you delight? Delight in God’s Word and God’s people. This will benefit you so that you truly can become the happy or blessed person and bring forth fruit consistent with that.
If you do not have a church home, feel free to worship with us either in-person or online at 10:00 AM CST. You can get directions online at www.sonrisebaptist.com or can join our service online.
Image Credit sheri silver
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