by: Bette Owens
“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalm 37:4
It is impossible to separate the Lord from His Word. To delight is to have pleasure, satisfaction and great enjoyment. Have you ever been around someone and all they talk about is their grandchildren? There is something about my grandchildren or any new baby that brings me delight. It is natural for women to delight in a newborn or being able to spend time with the grandchildren. We let nothing interfere with that time, and if someone else needs us to do something, we are busy. The phone, a knock on the door, sometimes even our own husband is not allowed to interfere with those plans. We practically ignore everyone and everything for that special time. We wait anxiously to get the call that the new grand baby has arrived and we cannot wait to rush to the hospital, see pictures or hold that precious baby in our arms. We hold them and talk about who they look like and how cute they are. We cannot wait to tell others all about our new grand baby. Why? Because we delight in them.
Do you delight that much in God’s Word? Do you get so excited when reading God’s Word that you put everything and everyone else on hold? Have you ever been around someone and all they talk about is their grandchildren? Do people comment that all you talk about is God’s Word? Is He that important to you that you delight in His Word?
I was reading Psalm 119 and noticed that we ought to delight in God’s Word.
“I will delight myself in thy statutes…” Verse 16
“Thy testimonies also are my delight…” Verse 24
“…for therein do I delight.” Verse 35
“And I will delight myself in thy commandments…” Verse 47
“…but I delight in thy law.” Verse 70
“…for thy law is my delight.” Verse 77
“Unless thy law had been my delights…” Verse 92
“…yet thy commandments are my delights.” Verse 143
“…and thy law is my delight.” Verse 174
As I was reading all those “delights,” I asked myself, how can I really “delight” in the Word? I mean, how do I do that? I marked the words in my Bible, making them stand out so they will catch my attention, but how do I really “delight” in God’ Word?
I think that first we need to have a desire or longing for It. Psalm 119:40, “Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.” Psalm 119:131, “I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.” Wow! Do we long for God’s Word so much that we open our mouth and pant for It? It’s someone holding a child’s favorite food in front of their mouth and they are sticking out their tongue trying to reach for it. I think if we really long for God’s Word, we will take time to reach out for It and read It everyday; maybe even more than once a day.
How about learning and memorizing God’s Word? Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:73, “Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.” If you really delight in something, you will learn all about it. You will know where you can find it, and you will know exactly what it looks like, tastes like and smells like; you will have it on your mind and will be mesmerized with it. Do you really delight in God’s Word? How well do you know It? How much time do you spend memorizing It? I don’t think we are ever too old to memorize God’s Word. God’s Word can comfort us as well as help us deal with temptation. Bible verses that we’ve learned will come to our minds and can help us with the many circumstances in our lives. The only way we can learn God’s Word is by studying It.
If you do not respect God’s Word by trusting It, you will not delight in God’s Word. Psalm 119:42, “So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.” If you really want to delight in God’s Word then you need to cling to It, not as you would a teddy bear, but as you would a life preserver. There is nothing like trusting in God and respecting His Word.
If you love someone, you will delight in them. As my husband and I grow older we delight more and more in each other. I love just to sit and talk with him. It should be the same with the Word of God. If we love God, we are going to find delight in Him and His Word. Psalm 119:97, “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.” When you love someone, you will also keep your word or the promises you made to them. As the years go by, my husband and I continue to delight in each other because we continue to keep the promises and commitments we have made to each other. If we are not keeping our promises to what the Bible says, we cannot be delighting in It. Psalm 119:33, “Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.” We need to promise to keep God’s Word whether we agree with It or not, whether It is hard to follow, whether others agree or whether or not we feel like it.
If we are truly delighting in God’s Word, it will be a joy to us and we will rejoice in His Word. “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16)
Another way of delighting in the Word is to live by It. James 1:22, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” If we are truly doers of God’s Word, then we will be sharing God’s Word. We share with others such things as sports, books, and TV shows, the deal we got, coupons, and yes, our grandchildren. We get so excited about these things and just have to tell our friends. Are we that excited about sharing God’s Word, which is so much more important? I think if we really delight in God’s Word, sharing It will be an outcome of that delight.
We can’t really even begin to delight in the Word unless we open It and read It. Just start reading God’s Word. Read Psalm 119 and mark all the verses that have “delight” in them. “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103) I believe we all need to delight more in God’s Word. Are you delighting in the Word? If you really are delighting in God’s Word, you will read It, long for It, learn It, memorize It, share It, and rejoice in It. We all need to delight in God’s Word more.
Mrs. Bette Owens
Pastor’s wife
Westside Baptist Church
Pacifica, CA