Delighting In God's Word

Psalm 1:2 – His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. (RSV)

As a child, I never really went to church. It's not so much that my family didn't believe in God, it's more that we just never found church all that necessary. Because of this, my knowledge of Bible stories was provided by Charlton Heston's "The Ten Commandments" and "Ben Hur". When I became a Christian in my teen years, the Word of God became an exciting journey into stories of adventure and God's love.

As a result, I was never without my Bible — ever! I was reading it every time I had a minute or two free. I think that, in the first two months, I had read it cover-to-cover about three times. I was reading the age-old stories of Jonah, Saul, Samuel, and Moses, and the truth of Jesus' life and love for us. It was so exciting!

Since those early days, the years have passed, nearly thirty-five of them, and that exciting newness is just not the same. I must confess that some passages have even become a little mundane. In terms of today's verse, my delight in the "law" (Word) of the Lord has waned.

What can bring about a renewal of that desire for the Word? This simple verse, Psalm 1:2, tells us how: "Meditate day and night." Now I am being called to a new level of understanding and maturity, more than just reading and being excited by all those new stories. Now God is requiring thoughtful meditation on the truth behind His Word. I can achieve this by spending time thinking about what I am reading, letting Him reveal new truths.

That newness is now at a deeper level, through the process of meditating on His Word. Every time I read a passage, just knowing that He will speak quietly causes me to experience that same old excitement. Once again, it has become hard to put down my Bible. Once again, that "delight" has become a part of my life. God wants each of us to experience this same delight as part of our lives. We can achieve this by meditating on His Word.

Prayer: Remind us, Lord, that Your Word is a "lamp unto [our] feet" and is meant to guide us through each and every day. Amen.

Forward this devotional     Share this devotional on Facebook     Like PresbyCan on Facebook