His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
  Psalm 1:2

When God’s Word feels like a feast, I linger over it. I underline, I savor, I whisper, “Oh yes, Lord,” and I truly mean it. But what about the days when my heart is seized with worry?  Do I delight in the commands that tell me not to fear? When I’m heavy with regret, do I rejoice in the promises of fresh mercy? When I’m quietly nursing a grudge, do I love the words that call me to forgive? I can be like a child who is thrilled with the rules that fit my mood, yet resents the ones that confront what I don’t want to surrender.

Every day brings a new set of circumstances that tests my love for God’s ways. I will not naturally delight in the parts of His Word that correct me, expose me, or nudge me out of my emotional comfort zone. When Jesus invites me to step out of familiar feelings that have become my default, (though they fit like my favorite old shirt and pair of jeans), I need to recognize what they really are.  Grave clothes. They belong to a life still wrapped in the tomb. Jesus calls every child of God out of the darkness and into resurrection life. It sounds beautiful and stirring until His light actually exposes my shadows. Then I discover how resistant I can be, how easily offended when He touches the places I’d rather keep hidden. Part of me would rather stay in the tomb I know than risk the freedom I don’t.

The ways of the flesh are the ways of death. I know this. I can say it, teach it, write it, and still find those old ways woven deeply into my fallen nature. So I have to speak truth to my own soul, sometimes many times a day: Choose His way. Trust His heart. Move toward the light. As I lean into obedience and push through my initial offense, my reluctance, my fear, I begin to taste something different on the other side. I realize I am breathing more freely. And in that space, delight is no longer forced; it begins to flow.

When David promises to “delight” in God’s statutes, it is both tender and courageous. Yes, it is the language of affection, but it is also the language of faith before the feeling fully blooms. He is saying, in essence, I will love what You love, even when my heart has to grow into it.

I need Your grace to desire You.  Keep my heart alive and straining for the Light. In Jesus name,  Amen