How to Delight in God
God promised that you will have ‘fullness of joy’ and ‘pleasures’ if you are in his presence. Where are they?
In case you want to hold God to His Word, you can find this bold promise in Psalm 16:11 – “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” It is one three-phrase verse, but it promises an awful lot.
If you are like me, you might wonder where these promises are. I am a Christian – I am united with Christ – I am being sanctified to be like Him. But there are certainly times when I don’t feel that ‘fullness of joy.’ Could it be that the Christian life is overrated?
But wait! These blessings are promised to whom? If you read the verse again, you will notice that in your presence there is fulness of joy. At your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
I believe that one reason why we don’t experience the sheer joy of God’s presence, or the pleasures of his right hand, is because we don’t always (often?) show up there. We need to take time to sit in God’s presence and delight in Him.
Earlier in this Psalm, the poet renounced any association with idols. “Their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out,” he challenged, “or take their names on my lips.” It is a heroic, orthodox thing to say.
It is quite another to live it out. Apart from the fact that our world is full of so many idols, Christians seem particularly susceptible to worship the microwave god. You know what I’m talking about. He is the god who gives us everything we want, immediately. He is the god who only requires four minutes of prayer a day (less if we have a social outing) and who is exceedingly pleased if we manage to read one chapter in the Bible. The microwave god is always here for us: ready to bless our laundry-list of needs, able to thrive without a word of thanks or adoration. In exchange for our dollars or our brief devotional moments, the microwave god is willing to endorse us as full, card-carrying Christians who are fighting mightily to live out the ramifications of our faith in a hostile world.
Perhaps there was some jest in that characterization, but the God we serve is not the microwave god. He demands to be Lord of your pocketbook, Lord of your hobbies, Lord of your career, Lord of your relationships – and yes, Lord of your time, also. He does not ask us to give Him our leftovers. There are pleasures at his right hand, but you must linger in his presence. Take time to be with Him. Take your Bible to a coffee shop and read – for hours. Take a walk and meditate on the Bible. Lock yourself in your room and pray.
Perhaps the cause of joyless Christianity is a Martha-like devotion. Perhaps we need to sit, Mary-like, at Jesus’ feet.
