To those whose hearts are turned toward God today, there are no more joyous sounds than those that emanate from His throne: the sounds of victory, of worship, and of freedom! Do we have ears to hear? Do our hearts resonate to the sounds of God’s joy?
It is no less true with God than with anyone else: we are delighted to receive communications from those whom we love. “This is the love of God,” John wrote, “that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
God’s satisfaction of our needs enlarges our capacity. For those who’ve progressed a little way down the path of spiritual growth, one of the most intense delights is that when we think He has filled our cup to the brim, He gives us a bigger cup.
Can we fail to get the point in Psalm 34? David’s concept of the good life was that it had to do with human character. His primary concern was with what a person is, and not with what that person might have or accomplish.
“Pleasure” and “fulfillment” often turn out to be disappointing, and that is certainly the case with material wealth. Possessions gained at the expense of higher values have an uncanny way of turning against their owners and breaking their hearts.
We desperately need to have something that defines our identity and determines the value of our lives, and if God’s deeds are not allowed to do these things, then it’s only a matter of time before we begin looking to our own deeds to fill the gap.
The very respectability of our lives may mask a good deal of self-will and self-sufficiency. Godliness means that we do what we do “as to the Lord,” and there is a considerable distance between the life of self-governed goodness and the life of God-governed faith.
Too often, we stop seeking God and become occupied with ourselves. But God is patiently waiting for us to return to Him and begin taking Him seriously. He is ready to begin undoing the damage that we’ve done in the headlong pursuit of our “selves.”
As far as God is concerned, open-mindedness on our part is more than intellectual curiosity. It is the delight with which the sincere embrace everything they can learn about their Father. When such people seek God, He is sure to be found.
It may have been a long time since we deferred to God on any question that really mattered to us, and the thought of openly admitting how poorly we’ve lived our lives is embarrassing, to say the least. Pride dies a hard death.