Delight in the Lord
"Only after a painful ordeal of self-probing are we likely to discover what we actually think about God." -A. W. Tozer.Have you ever taken time to assess what you truly think about God? Take a few minutes now, if you can, and do that. Avoid giving the typical "Sunday School" answer, or the answer you know to be correct. Really think about it. Based on how you live the faith that you profess, what do you actually think and believe to be true?
I did this exercise recently and was shamefully convicted by it. It was easy enough to rattle off the "correct" answers, but when I held myself accountable to the instructions, my answer was, to be blunt, pathetic. It was vague, impersonal, and was about as passionate as a brown paper bag.
Know His Heart
Take a moment now and read Psalm 145 - the whole thing. I know, I'm being bossy, but I'm just getting started. Now google "Valley Of Vision - Praise and Thanksgiving". Now google the lyrics for the classic hymn "The Love of God".
How would you rate your passion for the Lord in comparison to that chapter, prayer, and song? Again, be brutally honest; don't settle for the Sunday School answer you know to be correct. Do you realize that the passion of these three different authors stems from their knowledge of the Lord? They delight in Him because they know Him! Knowing "of" someone, and knowing them personally are not the same thing. Think of the difference of being a fan versus being a friend. A fan knows facts and stats, but a friend knows the heart.
Delight in the Lord
Jeremiah 9:23-24 tells us the Lord delights in those who know Him!
And Psalm 145 declares, "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable" (v. 3, ESV).
My dear sister, take heart in this encouragement. The Lord delights in your pursuit to know Him. Don't just settle for knowing Him merely through books or through the words of your pastor. Pursue to know the Lord as He has revealed Himself through His Word, for you cannot delight in Whom you don't know intimately and personally.
Continued Encouragement
Author of, “Delight in the Lord”Johanna Duguid
Johanna is a gal in her early 30s and is passionate about all things Bible, baking and budgeting! She married her husband Josh in September of 2014 and their only child is a fuzzy, four-legged Australian Labradoodle named Mac.
Josh and Johanna were involved with planting their current church back in 2017, serving in the roles of Music Ministry director (Josh) and Children’s Ministry director (Johanna). They now both serve in all areas of music, tech and IT support while also being joint Small Group leaders.
In her free time, Johanna enjoys baking, crafting, and organizing (and reorganizing) the books on her bookshelf.
You can find her on Instagram here.