summer joy

I’ve continued to ponder the John Piper sermon I wrote about and his signature catchphrase “God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in him.” As I indicated in my post, this strikes me as true. As I’ve read the Scriptures this past week, I’ve seen this confirmed in the text. I’m thinking of Psalms like this one:

Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore,

“Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” (Psalm 35:27, ESV)

We delight in God when we point to his great delight in us!

We love God when we praise his great love for us.

John Piper talked about how duty and commitment, while perhaps the beginning and often the glue of love, are not enough for a relationship to flourish. In fact, one is most satisfied in a relationship when there is a deep affection for the other person that is most pleased in their joy.

As I listened to Piper preach at the conference and then again via the recording later, I thought to myself, I want to be that passionate about Jesus. I want to be honestly satisfied in him more than I am now.

Okay, but what does this look like, practically? Is there more to this idea than simply offering lip service to God’s faithfulness? What does it mean to delight in the Lord? Here are three things that come to mind as I meditate on how to delight in God.

Trust him.

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:3-4, ESV)

Do you see how these idea are linked here? Placing our lives in God's hands and experiencing his faithfulness will naturally lead to delight in him, and God is faithful to draw near to us when we pursue him (James 4:8).

Cultivate a grateful heart.

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” (Psalm 50:23, ESV)

God is glorified when we come to him in thanks. This life of gratitude will lead us to desire to "order our way rightly" in obedience to him. This fruitful gratitude is clearly an essential part of saving faith. Cultivating a grateful heart is sometimes difficult, but pray for God to open your eyes to all of the great blessings you have received in him--especially in Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Love others.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7, ESV)
Loving others is an essential fruit of knowing God. This much is clear throughout the Scriptures, and as I ponder it I know I can be better at loving those around me. We're often told in Christian circles that we have to love each other, but not necessarily like each other. Although there's some truth to this, I'm afraid it misses out this point John is making here: If we love God and delight in him, we will love those he loves, and delight in those he delights in. This means our relationships in and out of the church must move beyond duty to deep affection, an affection that transcends mere differences of theology and personality.

How can I find more delight in God? Trust him, experiencing his faithfulness. Cultivate a grateful heart. Love those he loves. Then I begin truly treasure him and his gifts.