How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them. Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. [Psalm 111:2-3 (NLT)]
While walking in the Botanical Gardens, I left my husband on a bench by the lake while I went back to get a few more photos of the plumeria. After getting my last shot, I returned to find him gazing out at the water. When I disturbed his reverie with a touch on the shoulder, he looked up and said, “I was just enjoying Him!” I knew exactly who he meant.
There are plenty of things Scripture tells us to do with God. We are to love, hear, follow, worship, praise, and obey Him. We’re also told to put our hope in Him, rest in Him, have faith in Him, glorify Him, and honor Him with our lives. We are to cast our cares on Him and seek, work for, and fear the Lord. But, we also should delight in Him—not just delight in his word, works, love, and gifts—but delight in His very presence!
That morning, my husband was delighting in God and relishing quiet time in His company. He was enjoying God’s presence the way two old friends might—by sitting together silently and savoring their companionship. My husband had focused on God while I was focusing so intently on the flowers that I missed a moment to delight in the One who made those blossoms. Even though I got some photos for this blog, my husband’s time was better spent than mine and I was reminded of Martha and Mary.
When Jesus visited, Martha was anxious about having such an honored guest and His disciples in her home. Busy with the meal preparation and responsibilities of serving so many people, she expected her sister Mary to help. Mary, however, was sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to Him teach. When Martha complained to Jesus, He told her that only one thing was necessary and that Mary had chosen it.
The Greek word translated as “chosen” was eklégomai, meaning to make a deliberate choice with a planned outcome. Mary didn’t end up at Jesus’ feet on a whim or because she was lazy; she purposefully chose to break social norms so she could do the “one necessary thing.” The Greek word translated as “necessary” was chreia, meaning the things that are required for sustenance on a journey or absolutely necessary for life. Mary made a deliberate choice to sit at the Lord’s feet so that she would have the one thing required on life’s journey. Jesus, however, never identified that one necessary thing. Is it hearing His word, listening to His voice, and learning at His feet? Is it seeking the Kingdom of God? Is it being occupied with Jesus rather than being occupied for Him? Is it as simple as delighting in His presence?
God generously gave us the capacity to enjoy and delight in Him as well as the life He’s given us. Let’s not get so caught up in the business of the day that we miss doing just that. When Mary sat at the Lord’s feet, she deliberately chose the better over the good and the essential over what seemed important at the time. This week, let’s choose to do the same thing. Let us be still, know that He is God, and delight in His presence!
Being wrapped up in God’s work can easily become a shabby substitute for being wrapped up in His presence. [Mary Southerland]
When writing about Nehemiah recently, I thought about waiting. From the time he learned of Jerusalem’s broken-down walls until he spoke to the king, three months passed. Day in and day out, Nehemiah was at the king’s side but remained silent about his concern. Trusting that God would provide the opportune time, Nehemiah patiently waited at the king’s side until God provided the perfect moment when the king inquired about his cupbearer’s sadness. Had I been Nehemiah, would I have trusted God’s timing and kept silent for ninety days? What about you?
When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, over ninety years had passed since the first of the exiled Jews had returned to Judah. Although the temple had been rebuilt for seventy years, Jerusalem’s city walls and gates were still in ruins. Nevertheless, within fifty-two days of his arrival, the walls were reconstructed and new gates installed. That Nehemiah managed to accomplish in less than two months what hadn’t been done in ninety years is a case study in Management 101.
Even without knowing what a petard is, we probably know that when someone gets “hoisted by his own petard,” he’s been foiled by his own scheme. When Shakespeare’s audience heard this phrase spoken by Hamlet in 1600, they knew a petard was a bomb. In the bard’s day, hoisted had more than one meaning. Along with lifted, it meant removed or taken out. Taken literally, Hamlet’s phrase meant that his enemy would be blown up by his own bomb!
Most trees begin life as a seed in the soil of the forest floor and most trees also observe proper forest etiquette by not killing one another. The strangler fig (Ficus aurea), however, is not your typical tree. Rather than starting in the soil where the fig’s seeds would struggle to germinate in the darkness of the dense forest’s floor, strangler figs usually begin life high up in the forest’s canopy. Blown there by the wind or deposited by animals in their droppings, the sticky fig seed usually begins its life in the bark crevices of a mature tree.
In a classic Peanuts comic (drawn by Charles Schulz), the meek Linus asked his bossy big sister Lucy, “Why are you always so anxious to criticize me?” She answered, “I just think I have a knack for seeing other peoples’ faults.” When Linus queried, “What about your own faults?” Lucy replied, “I have a knack for overlooking them.” Along with her over-sized ego, Lucy has what psychologists call “fundamental attribution error.”
Devotions of the Heart 