SOUNDING OUT:
Delight In and Desire God
There is no way to develop a relationship
with God without developing a relationship with His
Word. God’s Word establishes God’s will.
Our heavenly Father decided He would communicate Himself
to mankind through His Word. Therefore, if we want to
learn of Him, we must come to His Word.
The greater our desire for and delight in the
scriptures, the more simple our walk with our loving
heavenly Father becomes.
Psalm 37:4:
Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give
thee the desires of thine heart.
Does this verse say, “Delight
thyself in the Lord, and He shall give thee whatever
you desire.” No, it doesn’t. It says, “He
shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” If
we delight in Him, our desires will be transformed.
Delight in God has a transforming power, and
lifts us above the gross desires of our old-man nature.
Delight in God is not only sweet in itself, but it sweetens
the whole soul, till the longings of the heart become
such that the Lord can safely promise to fulfill them.
Such grand delight in God molds our desires until they
become like the desires of God?
Our foolish sense-knowledge nature recognizes
a desire, and then sets to work to obtain what we desire.
We do not go about it as God suggests, which is to seek
Him first, and then expect all things to be added unto
us in due course.
Matthew 6:33:
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.
If we will let our heart
be filled with God till it runs over with delight, then
the Lord Himself will take care that we shall not want
any good thing.
Psalms 34:8-11:
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the
man that trusteth in him.
9 O fear the LORD, ye his
saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
10 The young lions do lack,
and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall
not want any good thing.
11 Come, ye children, hearken
unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
God provides exceeding
abundantly above all we can ask or think. He can do
for us far more than all our friends. It is better to
be content with God alone than to go about fretting
and pining for the trifles that we think will fulfill
us. Nothing but the love of God makes life meaningful,
and His Word is what makes His love known.
Psalm 107:9:
For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the
hungry soul with goodness.
It is well to have longings,
and the more intense they are the better. The Lord will
satisfy soul-longings, however great and all-absorbing
they may be. Let us greatly long, for God will greatly
give. We are never in a right state of mind when we
are contented with ourselves, and are free from longings.
I had a motto for many years, “Always thankful
never satisfied.”
Desires for more grace, and groanings which cannot
be uttered, are growing pains, and we should wish to
feel them more and more. God grant that we sigh and
cry after better things, and for more of the best things!
Matthew 5:6:
Blessed are they which do hunger and
thirst after righteousness: for they
shall be filled [chortazõ, filled according
to appettite].
Hunger is by no means
a pleasant sensation. Yet blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness. Such persons shall not
only have their hunger relieved with a little food,
but they shall be filled. What delightful morsels God
supplies. Remember manna? “What is it?”
God will fill with only the best.
Come, let us not fret because we long and hunger,
but let us hear the voice of the Psalmist as he also
longs and hungers to see God magnified. "Oh, that
men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for
his wonderful works to the children of men." “O
how I love thy law!”
Where else but God’s Word are we going
to learn about God’s love? Where else but God’s
Word are we going to learn how to operate the nine manifestations
of the spirit? God’s Word contains all things
that pertain to life and godliness. God’s Word
tells us “what is available” regarding spiritual
matters, and we renew our minds to claim it.
Psalm 119:161:
SCHIN.
Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart
standeth in awe of thy word.
Psalm 119:117:
Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have
respect unto thy statutes continually.
When our hearts stand
in awe of His Word, and we respect it continually, it
will be more than just a vain curiosity. It will be
a longing that presses for fulfillment. Spending time
with God in His Word develops our passion to live for
God. We want to know God’s Word, so we can do
God’s will.
If we want to be men and women after God’s
own heart, we have to be involved on a heart-level.
Superficial pleasantries and niceties rarely make for
a meaningful relationship. But when we live our lives
with delight and passion for the things of God, even
a mundane and routine life can be transformed by a heartfelt
personal relationship with God, the Author of the Book.
This next verse we are going to read became a
regular prayer of mine before opening the Word.
Psalms 119:18:
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things
out of thy law.
Now,
the Psalmist could open his eyes. He was not blind. He
could see. But is he really talking about physical eyesight?
This is something he felt that he could not do by himself.
He needed God’s help. Hence his prayer was directed
to God, “Open Thou mine eyes.”
Exactly, for what did he pray? To read the Bible?
No, he could do that. To understand the words? No, he
knew what the words meant. He wanted more out of his time
in the scriptures! He wanted a relationship with the Author
of the book. He wanted to know God’s Word as a personal
communication to him. One in which he might see the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge that God has for them that love
Him.
He felt that God had laid up great bounties in
his Word, and he asks for power to perceive, appreciate,
and enjoy the same. We need not so much that God should
give us more blessings, but rather the ability to see
and appreciate what he has already given us. The Psalmist
asks for no new faculty. He does not desire a “sixth
sense.” The eyes are there already, and they need
only to be opened. It is our joy and responsibility to
use the eyes, and God’s delight and responsibility
to open them.
It is during our time spent with God in His Word
when we begin to learn how God speaks to our hearts. God’s
Word expressly declares God’s will and lights our
path so we can walk with Him. There is no substitute for
being diligent to present ourselves approved unto God
as workmen who need not to be ashamed as we rightly divide
the Word of truth. When we know what the Word says, we
know what God’s wants us to do. When we know what
the Word declares we will be less likely to be surprised
at His direction via the manifestations.
There is no way to get around the importance of
spending time with God in His Word. If we do not know
His Word, we will never know His will and our attempts
at walking by the spirit will be nothing but vain imaginations.
|
