Delighting in God’s Word

Psalm 119: 92 if your Law had not been my delight I would have perished in my affliction
2 Chron 12:1, 14 when the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord… he did not set his heart to seek the Lord… and Israel with him.
Revelation 2: 4 I have this against you, that you have abandoned your first love

I don’t know about you, but one thing is true often in my life, that when I get busy, and life’s pressures mount up, one of the first things I will drop out of my schedule is my time with God. Why is that? Well, for me, I think its because I don’t really place the value on it enough to motivate me to keep it. That is evident when other things are allowed to crowd it out. Whatever those other things are, have become more important. We always make the time for the things that are important to us.

As I read through Psalm 119 this week, the priority he placed on God’s word in his life really jumped out at me. Here’s a few examples:
• Psalm 119:10 with my whole heart I seek you
• Psalm 119:11 I have stored up your word in my heart that I ought not sin against you.
• Psalm 119:14 in your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches
• Psalm 119: 20 my soul is consumed with longing for your rules
In 2 Chron 11-12 we see the beginning of Israel’s slide away from the Lord. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, once his rule was established, and everything was going well, he abandoned the Lord and did not set his heart to seek the Lord. Other things became more important, and they crowded out the Lord. He did not make it the priority that his father and grandfather did. It takes intentionality to set our hearts to seek the Lord.

That was God’s rebuke of the Ephesians in Revelation 2:4 They were doing well at standing up against false teachers, and enduring persecution patiently (Rev 2: 3) But, God was no longer first in their heart.

David recognized that without the right perspective gained from delighting in God’s Word and spending time with Him regularly (Psalm 119:92), the pressures of life, the difficulties of trials, etc will cause us to lose hope and lose God’s perspective. He recognized that if he had not had that perspective, the difficulties and trials he faced would have overwhelmed him.

May Psalm 119:72 be true of us, “The law of your mouth is better than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” Our Father is always waiting with open arms for us to enter his presence and communion with Him. Don’t leave him waiting long.

My prayer for you today is that you would fall more and more in love with God’s Word. That you would look forward to spending time with God. That time with Him would be more valuable to you than anything else, so much so that you won’t want to miss it for anything.