Last edited on: April 9, 2017.
A Lover’s Delight
Your people will offer themselves willingly
in the day of Your power,
in the beauty of holiness and in holy array
out of the womb of the morning;
to You [will spring forth] Your young men, who are as the dew.
in the day of Your power,
in the beauty of holiness and in holy array
out of the womb of the morning;
to You [will spring forth] Your young men, who are as the dew.
Psalm 110:3
One summer evening I attended an amazing concert, Chicago Style Jazz, Straight Up. Five musicians joined their award-winning talent and their love for jazz to soar far above where most musicians have walked. Over and over they seemed to pull from each other new sounds and rhythms. Their pure joy in the process was contagious to most all who were watching.
But just as contagious in my eyes was a young lady sitting directly in front of me. I noticed by her posture and movement to the beat that she was enjoying the concert. Then, when the musicians would erupt with spontaneous dips and turns, she would burst out with laughter and clap with delight. She saw and heard little nuances that others around her might have briefly noticed but not truly apppreciated if her enthusiasm had not pointed them out. It became more and more apparent that she both knew and loved jazz; this was not an outsider’s admiration but a lover’s delight.
Have you met believers like this? They don’t stand at a distance and admire who God is and what he does; they sit on the edge of their seats in anticipation because they know him and delight in his ways. When his wisdom causes circumstances to take sudden, unexpected turns, they watch with excitement.
When he speaks in ways unforeseen, these lovers of his Word seem to sink down into the midst of him and soak it in. I love being around people like this. It makes me hungry. It makes me dig deeper. It makes me look harder and run farther. Their delight, their joy, their pure love and passion are contagious to any who can receive it.
I think of David and the sons of Korah, writers of most of the Biblical psalms. Even through the valleys of despair and confusion, their urgent cries of love and hope rose up from within, sure of the one of whom they sang. It is no wonder that most of us don’t go very long without finding ourselves back in this book. Their words of intimate exaltation draw us up, closer into the Father’s lap.
When we see the power of a contagious heart, we can more easily understand the decisive nature of Jesus’ words:
You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind.
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind.
Matthew 22:37
As we experience and realize the flow of God’s love toward us, we won’t be able to contain our love in return to him. What power and passion flows forth through one who truly knows their God!
You know, we can quote the written Word all day to our friends, but nothing will touch them like our own hunger and love for the Word himself. It is not dutiful love that attracts but love freely lavished from a heart familiar with the gardens of heaven.
Yearning for more positive encouragement? You will enjoy Time To Go Deeper
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