Monday, August 22, 2022

River of God's Delights

Psalm 37:4 says, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." If delighting in the Lord is the desire of your heart, you will receive His presence. This matches what Jesus said in Matthew 3:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." In his book "Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing," Soren Kierkegaard observed that purity in this sense is not so much about piety or morality as it is the purity of having only one thing in your heart - seeing God. When seeing God is the only thing you want, you will see God. This also matches what Jesus told Martha in Luke 10:42, "There is need of only one thing." Or as Jesus put it in Luke 11:34 (KJV) "When thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light." So, regardless of what our culture says, glorifying God is not dour but intimacy with God is the spring of water gushing up to eternal life (John 4:14). I love the imagery of Psalm 36:7-9. "How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light."

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