It is delight yourself in the Lord and not delight yourself in the world. Although there are many good things to enjoy in the world, how often for many of us it is first a delight in the world.
Delight yourself in the Lord; that is make God your utter most treasure. Make him the satisfaction of your soul and the apple of your eye.
Consider the things that delights your soul. Ask yourself the innocent question of why these things makes you happy?
They make you happy because you love them. Or you find that they give you some kind of release or make you feel comfortable. Whatever it is, it may be boiled down to this, namely that you love whatever makes you happy. And how easy is it to motivate yourself to do such activities. It is very easy indeed.
Now, many have said that happiness comes from the inside. But I have to disagree. One can find some means of happiness by shutting out the external world, but the things that gives us happiness are mostly extrinsic.
The mother holding her child, the man playing football, the musician performing, the actor acting, the birds flying, and born-again men, worshiping. The latter part of the last sentence describes people doing what they love doing which brings them much happiness.
Duty nor necessity nor lashing can bring a man to follow Christ whole heartedly. Only enjoyment of what Christ gives and even more, the enjoyment received in ourselves from contemplating his being. The command to be pure in heart is so difficult for many because they see no enjoyment in it. The commandment to love God with their whole heart is forgotten by many because they do not see their happiness in it. But many will love the world because they see a great deal of profit from it. But if we constantly engage in that for which we were not made, then we can only find dissatisfaction at the end.
Men are born to worship, and through worship, that is beholding the manifold perfections of God, we begin to learn how to delight ourselves in the Lord.
Also by committing all our ways to him, we will begin to delight or show the fruits of our inward delights. This is easy to see in the world. How many commit all their ways to their pleasures in this world? Nearly all men. Or how many will gladly sacrifice dear things to their hearts if only they may gain their pleasure? Nearly all men. Therefore it is not a silly thing to do, to give up your life to gain Christ. You will only be doing your enjoyment a great deal of good.
But many of us are quick to run to the theme parks of the world rather than seek the paradise of heaven. O if our soul is sad, we search the whole world to find a means to escape our misery. We go here and there and in the end we become dissatisfied with the world's remedy.
We have become faithless that at the right hand of God are pleasures forever more.
The world entices her citizens with delight. It bids them a reward of pleasure if they buy this or that. But it often costs a great deal and often fails to meet their expectations. But God calls us to delight in him and we grudge at such an offer. How many poor men would frown if their government should bless them with a land, that such is theirs only if they would smile. Many poor men who never smiled before shall grin from sunset to sundown. And God being much more a noble being calls us to delight ourselves in him. And the reward is exceedingly great. Our enjoyment serves to glorify him more.
O what a sacred task we have been called to. Those who see God as being beautiful and all together lovely should have no reason to eschew such a delightful task. And also there is a reward, and that is, that God will give us the desires of our hearts.
Now, God will not grant a wicked desire. A heart that delights in the Lord will not seek such a vile thing. In fact, the heart that truly delights in the Lord will conclude his prayers with this: Not my will but your will be done. Yes, and that will truly delight the heart of one who delights in the Lord because he will be extremely happy that God's will is done.
Delight yourself in the Lord. And that is by meditation on his perfections and doing what he has commanded us to do.
K.Oni
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