I cannot help but be delighted from head to toe when I am eating ice cream. When I was in early elementary school (maybe even pre-school) I heard a song in Kid’s Church that said, “I love Jesus better than ice cream, and ice cream’s pretty good”. I loved ice cream so much that hearing this song became a pivotal moment in my itty-bitty faith, as an itty-bitty person. Perhaps you are laughing now, or rolling your eyes. Regardless, as a child it tested my love for Jesus. Did Jesus delight me as much as ice cream did? I knew that Jesus must love me very very much if He loved me more than ice cream.
Now as an adult, my delight in ice cream is still unparalleled with any other dessert. Thankfully, over time, I realized that Jesus and ice cream are on two completely different playing fields. But still, I find it a beneficial challenge to examine my own heart, and see where Jesus lies in the midst of my earthly, temporary, delights. Similarly, I find it healthy to question how I view the sacred minutes of Quiet Time…a means of growing in my relationship with Jesus. Do I view them as a duty, or as an absolute delight?
Recently, I have become enamored with Psalm 119. One evening as I read it with my husband, I could not help but choke up on some of the verses. Wow. To be so completely infatuated, fulfilled, and delighted in God. What an inspiration!
Ten verses (searching with the ESV version) specifically mention the word delight. Within those ten, the themes are testimonies and commandments. Growing deeper with Jesus results in a growing testimony. Does your testimony bring a sense of delight in God? Sometimes Quiet Time can feel like a command…and commands often have negative connotations in our culture today. However, God’s commands are for our protection, for His glory, and for our good. They are worthy of delight!
Delight in Jesus, and delight in spending time with Jesus, is obtainable. May our Quiet Time reflect Psalm 119:16, “I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” Take heart, and press into Jesus during your Quiet Time. It may take time, but Quiet Time can and will become a delight.
