Joy and Delight

Jer. 15:16

"Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O Lord, God of hosts."

What is my attitude toward the Word? In the first place, I don't have to find the Word of God since I have many copies within my house and the freedom to read them whenever and wherever. Yet in some places in the world, it is not so. The Word of God is scarce. Some people have only a page and would gladly sacrifice their lives for it, and many times they do. I imagine that their attitude toward the Word is considerably different from mine. But should it be? I think that most would agreee that abundance characterizes America, but even though that sounds like a good thing, it also has a down side. When commodities, including the Bible, are in abundance, it lessens their value. So all this freedom and affluence, has the potential to jade my attitude toward the Word which is something that I must guard against.

When I open the Word each day or many times throughout the day, I need to devour those words. I need to be ravenous for my next meal. A starvation diet will not do! When I 'eat' the Word, it has the God-given capacity to become one with my soul and spirit, in fact, with all of me. As it lives within me, it permeates, sustains, transforms, and grows. The end result: I am a changed person. No wonder Jeremiah could say, the Word was his joy and delight. It is mine as well! I have found that a steady diet of the Word increases my appetite for even more. The more that I take in, the more joy and delight there is, and the more I want.

Jeremiah felt the reason for this was because He was called by God's name. He was God's child and a member of God's chosen people. The same goes for me, I am called and a part of the body of Christ. Wow! That is a great cause for rejoicing. To me, this verse is a win-win. First, I find the Word and ingest it, and it becomes joy and delight. Secondly, I am called by God's name and am part of His body. Why wouldn't I want to devour the Word? Why would I choose a life without joy or delight? There was a time when the Word was 'lost' to me. My life was dour and duty-filled! Who wants to live that way? Not me, not any more. I can say with Jeremiah, "Your words are my joy and delight for I am called by Your name and am part of Your body." Praise God!

Father,

Thank You for this great blessing beyond belief. Help me never to take it for granted or to grow careless in my eating. Send Your Spirit to take what I eat and transform it into the nourishment and growth that I need so that my delight and joy in You may increase unbelievably.

In Jesus name,

Amen