Delight In The Lord

Cassandra is a Humanities Teacher in South Birmingham.

Psalm 112:1 (NIV)
Praise the lord. Blessed are those who fear the lord, who find great delight in his commands. 

As we are invited to praise, we are reminded that for us to become a fully committed worshipper, we must make a personal choice to 'fear' him and 'delight' in his commands. In this heavenly equation Fearing + Delighting = Blessing.

To fear means to respect, to look up to someone for instruction. As we raise children, we do not want them to fear (be afraid), but rather to grow in personal freedom, being empowered to make good choices. So it is with God and us.

How do we adopt this biblical command, pivotal for Christian discipleship, of fearing and obeying a loving God?

For me, the word ‘delight’ jumps out. Accepting the lordship of our Creator in our lives is letting the love of God shape and influence our beings, despite the world saying how important it is to be independent. Our appetite for independence and freedom is legitimate. But here's how we combine obedience to God and freewill:

by personal, unforced, intentional choice to delight in the offer presented to us.

To accept this leadership of Jesus in all areas of our lives can be costly. Some areas are harder to surrender than others. It's our choice to allow God to show his love to us in the deepest and darkest areas. If we do, like the Psalmist, we experience the immense confidence and peace that comes from the constant presence of our loving Creator.

I hope this week we can be reminded of the basics of our Christian faith. We are not blindly following a religion, but rather are seeking daily a deep intimacy with the Creator of the universe, who has given us new life in his son Jesus and wants to be in every part of our lives.

Prayer - Dear God, let me experience the true power of your presence in my life this week in a renewed way. Refresh my understanding of belonging to you. Show me what I need to surrender.  I choose to delight in your commands