What Hinders the Delight?

Then you will take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 58:14 (New American Standard Bible)

I know what it is to delight in someone. Delight entails a sense of joy, pleasure, happiness, joy, glee, gladness, enchantment, amusement, and satisfaction. To revel in ones presence and think dearly of them even in their absence. To want to spend time with them and take every opportunity to do so. Individuals readily come to mind in the writing of this paragraph. Today’s verse gives me a promise of all that and more being directed toward the Lord.

What is the prerequisites for taking delight in the Lord? They are listed in the previous verse (58:13). Doing that which pleases God rather than turning my own way, seeking my own pleasures, and speaking my own words. It is aligning myself with the truths of Scripture and living out of those truths. Separating from what needs to be separated from and embracing what needs to be embraced.

What are the hindrances to taking delight in the Lord? For me, it is having a divided heart. The bottom line comes down to who has my heart and attention? Who seems to be the one I cannot live without? Who stands in competition with God in my thinking? Who is prominent in my thoughts? Who is the idol I have placed on the pedestal of my internal world? As long as I feel I need another person’s attention, approval, acceptance, and affirmation it will hinder me from taking delight in the Lord.

At one time, this type of hindrance required the severing of a relationship. At present, it is not a severing that needs to take place but rather a letting go of certain aspects that represent security to me. I know the steps I must take in order to delight in God and this morning finds me pondering the steps as well as the difficulty associated with taking those steps. Past fears and failures come to mind and attempt to convince me that obedience in this area will lead to a sense of loneliness and isolation. Yet, God’s Word tells me obedience will lead to finding my delight in Him. My flesh tells me to not let go of what has felt so safe. My heart yearns for the freedom that will come in releasing my grip. My mind quickly lists the advantages to keeping things the same. My spirit tells me those advantages are really disadvantages when it comes to my walk with God.

The bottom line is will it be my way, my pleasures, and my words or God’s? I want it to be His and by His grace and continual work in me it will be.

Father, I am at a crossroads in my mind and life. May I walk by faith and not by feelings. By trust and not by emotions. By grace and not by greed. Amen.

I'm Letting Go - Francesca Battistelli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNEhKLrsUfo

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.