How do we delight in the Lord? – Part 2
by Kelly Dixon
Reading: Psalm 46:10; Romans 8:32
I will never forget the “nesting” stage I went through when I was pregnant with our first child. It was 2 a.m. in the morning and I couldn’t stay in bed a moment longer. As a matter of fact, my leg had been dangling off the side of the bed and I had been swaying and kicking it for at least half an hour. I had a burst of energy like none other. I just had to get up and get to doing something about our house. I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. The floors were immaculate. The ceiling fans were spotless. The bathroom sparkled. Oh, how I could use such energy for some good ole’ TLC to my house right now!! The one thing I remember the most about that morning was my husband. He had to be at work at 6 o’clock in the morning. By the time he arose I had fixed his breakfast and had it waiting for him on the table. As he ate I stood beside him arms folded, tapping my foot. I couldn’t wait until he was done eating. The dish he was using was the last thing in the house that needed to be cleaned. He looked up at me and said, “Are you okay?” I said, “Yeah, I’m good.” (tap, tap, tap goes the foot) “Would you like to feed me?” he asked with a smile. “No,” I said as I smiled back. (tap, tap, tappity, tap, tap) Although, visions went through my head of how that would speed things up, I resisted reaching forward to do so. As soon as he took his last bite, I swooped the dish out from under him, took it to the sink, washed it, dried it and put it away. I’ll never forget the look on his face when I turned around. It was like he was asking the questions, “What just happened here? Did I just eat breakfast or not? Who is this woman and what is she going to clean next?” Funny thing after that, he quickly gathered his stuff, kissed me good bye and hurried out the door.
As women, many times we are very busy with life. There are so many things that we need to do in the day that it is hard for us to settle down and be still. Psalm 46:10 tells us “Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted on earth.” This verse has taken on a new meaning in my life the last few months. So many times I have heard many Christians quote this Scripture as a way of acknowledging that our Lord is in control. When I would hear them quote it, visions of God being on His throne would come to mind. However, recently I have added to that vision not only God being on His throne but Jesus being at His right hand and the Holy Spirit being with me as the Comforter. By recognizing these facts, I am seeing more and more how important it is that I be still in the little things of life. I have actually added an evaluation question to my train of thought which is, “What are you hurrying up to do?” Many times when I ask myself this question I have realized that I am in a hurry just to be in a hurry. Our life in this world has instilled this urgency in many of us. However, we need to evaluate ourselves in this regards if we are going to delight in the Lord.
The Lord wants us to be still and know that He has everything in His loving hands and He is in control. However, He also wants us to be still and realize that because He has everything in His loving hands there are little things we are missing that He needs for us to focus on. Recently, the lesson of God’s people and developing a heart for His people has been one of the ways that I have acknowledged this. God wants us to slow down and really spend time with the people He places in our lives. He wants us to listen to them, laugh with them, cry with them, pray with them . . . He wants us to love them with His heart. We can’t do this if we are hurrying to get to the next thing or hurrying through just to say we have done something – worship, Sunday school, prayer time, Bible study, etc.
God has a heart for His people that we need to adapt if we are going to delight in Him. God loves the people He created. So much so that He did not spare His only Son. Romans 8:32 tells us, “He Who did not spare His Own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” This verse shows us that God’s love for us is so deep not only did He give up His only Son for us, but through Him He will graciously give us all things. When I think about this verse I think about one of the things He gives us is His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not only given to us to be our Comforter, but He is given to us to minister through us to others. If we don’t slow down in life and recognize the ones around us that need ministering to, then we are not presenting ourselves to God as a vessel He can use. Instead we are focusing on the incidentals in life like the dish I had to clean because it was the last thing dirty in the house. Delight in the Lord by slowing down and being still. Know that He is God and recognize the people He has placed in your life. Allow God’s agenda to become your own and keep your focus on Him.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I always have this anxious feeling about me that I need to hurry up and get done what I am doing at the moment. Help me to recognize when I am not slowing down for You. Help me to practice this in my everyday walk. Open my eyes to the people that You want me to minister to. I present myself to You as a vessel. Give me a heart for Your people and reveal to me Your agenda for my day. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for Your Spirit. Amen.
