Slowly Perfected by the Lord

Have you ever baked a scrumptious cake or another yummy dessert?  Have you ever made a delicious dish that was so awesome, you couldn't help but give yourself props?  What is it that makes the perfect dish?  The answer is time. My mom always told me to cook on low heat and to let the food cook slowly. The longer you let something cook, the better it turns out. The flavors have time to slowly merge and richly compliment the dish. I have to admit that sometimes, I'm in such a hurry that I pull the dish out too soon. To my dismay, it's often not ready, and back in the oven or stove it goes.  Our Christian walk is similar to this.  God is slowly perfecting us to be that mature Christian and powerful men and women of God He has called us to be.
James 1:2-4 tells us,

"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations [testings]; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

God's testing in our life is meant to bring us to perfection or spiritual growth.  When we are tested, God is producing patience in our lives. It is that patience that brings us to spiritual maturity and to the place God is taking us to.  If we try to interrupt what God is doing or take matters into our own hands, we are cutting our process short and not letting the flavor of God truly develop within us.  If I may say,we are taking the "dish" out too early.  Therefore, we won't be fully perfected and entire.  When we allow God to fully make us into what He wants, we end up truly winning because the finished product is fully done and nothing more needs to be added to it.  We become what God truly intended us to be.  We will lack nothing spiritually because God has truly finished what He has started. T.D. Jakes wrote the following words. Keep in mind, although it was written for a woman, it applies to men and women alike:

Every woman who walks with God walk through storms winds and rain. O woman of God, your life is filled with challenges and victories, smiles and tears. You are like a sweet salve mixed by an apothecary. You are a careful blend of life’s many spices. Your personality is a potpourri of so many different things that years of knowing you will not reveal everything that makes you who you are. You are carefully concocted, slowly simmered, and stirred patiently by the Lord. It is amazing how deliberate God is in preparing you for you destiny. He knows what event it will take to bring you to a place of maturity in Him. He is your Lord.

Let us allow God to take His time in forming and molding us.  The final product will be amazing. 

The Pilgrim's Journey

In light of the coming holiday season, here is some food for thought. Am I getting excited about the holidays? Absolutely. LOL.

This last month in my 8th grade U.S. History class that I teach, we've been exploring the colonization of the Americas in its early beginnings. Colonists had many reasons for relocating to the Americas.  Many people left Europe hoping to free themselves from debt, start new businesses and make profits, and some just wanted a fresh start.  Later, a group of people came from England and settled in the New England area in what is now Massachusetts. These people left England because they desired to have freedom of religion, the right to worship God as they saw fit. They became known as the pilgrims and separatists. The pilgrims desired a better place than where they came from. They sought a destination where they could explore the realms of Spirit without fear of persecution. They were blessed in that they found a destination, and through them as well as other colonists, the United States of America was birthed. Today in our country, we still enjoy the privilege of being able to worship God freely and serve Him as He has been revealed to us.

     As I reflect on the pilgrims' journey, my spirit nudges me to another group of pilgrims listed in the book of Hebrews 11. Abraham, Sara, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Moses's parents, Joseph, Joshua, Rahab, Gedeon, Barak, Samson, Jepthae, David, and Samuel as well as so many others were pilgrims in the truest sense. Hebrews says this about our heroes and pilgrims of the faith:

"Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect" (v. 32-40).

These pilgrims as you will note, were wanderers, meaning they settled in no particular area. The reason being that they desired a better country, a heavenly one (v.16).  They did not involve themselves with the cares of this world for they knew that this world was not their home, they were just passing through. Hebrews 11, referring to two of the greatest pilgrims, Abraham and Sara, says that by faith, they journeyed to the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tents with their families. They looked for a city that had foundations whose builder and maker was God (v. 9-10).  Why did they dwell in tents when God had already given them the land? They could have made a permanent dwelling, yet they understood that God had prepared for them a heavenly dwelling better than this world could offer. Now that's faith! Referring to the pilgrims of faith, Hebrews also says,
 
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city" (v. 13-16).

 

These pilgrims understood they were on a journey whose destination was heaven. They had eternity in their hearts.  They could have returned to their old way of life, but they knew that it meant nothing in the greater picture. They desired something better. They desired Jesus Christ. In the light of Jesus Christ, the cares of the world were foolish and unimportant. It was this attitude that caused God to open his arms to them and made Him not ashamed to be called their God.  He was preparing a special city for them.  These pilgrims would not be let down. Later in Hebrews 11:38, its says that this world was not worthy of these people. This world will never be worthy of the kind of people who give it all, even their very lives, to serve Jesus Christ

      My question to you today is simple. Are you a pilgrim or a settler? If you are a settler, you have become comfortable and content with your place and success in this world. You see the world as being able to offer you riches, houses, money, fame, love, success etc.  The end of this life will soon come, but you cannot take those things with you to eternity. Have you become too comfortable in this life? Does heaven even excite you anymore? If not, then it is possible that you have become a settler. 

     If you are a pilgrim, you see your life as a vapor, short-lived. You understand that only what you do for Christ on this earth will last  into eternity. You have chosen to set your affections on heavenly things (Colossians 3:2) and you're storing your treasures in heaven because that's where you want your heart to be (Matthew 6:20). Your heart is set on Jesus Christ. When we see our lives in the light of eternity, we realize that all hurts and pain we have experienced in this life do not even compare to what will later be revealed in us (Romans 8:18). Just like the pilgrims, our temporal pain is just the entrance way to eternity. The pilgrim's life is the most rewarding.  If you are a settler, there is still time to change your mindset. It simply takes you picking up your tent, just like Abraham and walking on with eternity ahead of you, never looking back. Won't you do so today and make heaven your home?  I leave you with the words to one of my favorite songs:
 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

Letting Go of Ishmael

Sometimes it's hard to let go. Giving up our own dreams, our wants, our desires, and our plans can be just plain difficult initially (you will later see that God's plan is wonderful and perfect). When God gives us a promise, He has his very own unique way of fulfilling it that does NOT require our help. Our temptation is to sometimes think that we can help God along in fulfilling His promise, as if the Almighty Sovereign One needs our assistance. When God gave Abraham and Sarah the promise that they would have a son, they both realized that the task was completely out of their hands. Afterall, they were well beyond the age to have children. After much frustration and impatience, Sarah took matters into her own hand and had Abraham go into her servant Hagar, hoping that an heir would be born to them through an alternative method. Ishmael was born, yet God still confirmed to the couple that this would not be the heir that was part of his divine plan. Time passed. When Ishmael was still a young child, the Lord spoke to Abraham again and reconfirmed his promise to him concerning Isaac, "I will bless her [Sarah], and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations...And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!"  (Genesis17:16,18).  At this point, it is evident that Abraham and Sarah had long given up on the promise of God for their very own son.  They already errored in taking matters into their own hands and trying to fulfill the promise of God on their own, but what was worse is that they were still willing to settle for less than what God had for them. Their plan may have slighlty resembled  God's promise, but it was not the real thing. Ishmael, no matter how much embraced and loved, would never compare to God's plan and would never be God's plan.

     When the time came for Abraham to let go of his son and his mother, the bondwoman, Abraham had trouble letting go. As we read, he told God, "O that Ishmael might live before thee." Abraham at this point had come to love Ishmael and was close to him. He had warmed up to being a father. Everything probably  felt so right to him, except for the little voice in the back of his mind telling him there was something more that God had for him and Ishmael was not it. Abraham probably wanted so badly for Ishmael to be the one, but the truth is, when its not of God, it's not of God.  Nothing can change God's sovereign will, not anybody or anything. We see that Abraham finally came to terms with his mistake and eventually, once Isaac was born (aah, finally!),  was forced to send Ishmael away with his mother. Sending him away, although painful, meant that God's plan of Isaac would flourish.  Both plans, the one of the flesh and the one of God could not coexist.

Sometimes in our human or fleshly spirit, we birth things that are not of God.  Sometimes in our impatience to see God fulfill a promise given to us, we produce something of our own will.  We embrace it, we nurture it, and we hope that God will fit it into his plan for us. Our plan may feel like a bit of the real thing, but its' not the real thing. What is of the flesh is flesh, and what is of the spirit is spirit. The book of  Romans, referring to Abraham and Sarah's ordeal says, "They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed, for this is the word of promise...(Romans 9:8).  Galatians also says, "For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewomen. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh, but he of the freewoman was by promise....What saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." (Galatians 4:23, 30)  This scripture has many applications, but I would like to use it to show how what is born out of our own will cannot coexist with the promise of God.  Just like Abraham, we must be willing to give up what is not of God to receive from Him what is. We cannot keep our own plan and have God's plan for our life as well.  Sacrifices must be made so that God can fulfill His perfect will in our lives.  His will is sovereign and nothing can change it. Our will can never be his will no matter how much we wish it.  This will end in heartbreak for not only us, but for others who we involve. Ishmael and Hagar were hurt  and damaged because of Abraham and Sarah's disobedience which is quite sad, but in the end, God's plan stood supreme. I have had my share of Ishmael's in my life, watered down versions of what God really wanted to do in me. Take this from a gal who has started three different masters programs for example. lol. Thank God he kept nudging me on to something better.  I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I would have allowed God to work perfectly through me instead of taking matters into my own hands. Yes, God is full of grace, as we see that he had mercy on Abraham and Sarah, but we must be careful with the consequences of letting our plan exist too long.  What problems they could have avoided if they would have continued to trust in God and not have allowed their frustration and impatience to get in the way. I remember the testimony of Nona Freeman from years ago. She talked about her work in Africa and how much God used her and her husband for a special calling. Yet, she notes how as she looked back, she realized how much more God could have done through them  if their wills would have been pushed out of the way completely.

My question to all of us is what Ishmaels do you need to release today?  What is keeping you from receiving what God really has for you?  Is it a job, a person, a dream, a plan of your own. In Jesus Name, I pray you have the strength to let it go so that God can work perfectly through you and release His dream, His desire, and His plan for you.  You may not understand now what God is doing, but know that His plan is beyond what we can understand. It was through the promise of Isaac that we have salvation today. Imagine what this world would have missed out on if Abraham and Sarah would not have let Ishmael go. Hold on to the promise of God as if it is already fulfilled. Nurture it. Embrace it. Believe it.  Let go of Ishmael and see God do a work in you that will have eternal blessings.

April

The Power of Choice

"And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. "  I Chronicles 28:20

We read that King David called his son Solomon (son of Bathsheba) aside to give him orders to build the House of God. David assured his son that God was behind this project and that God would be with him as he did God's work. When David handed over the plans for building the House of God to his son Solomon, he gave him specific instructions (I Chronicles 29). Solomon would have everything he needed to be successful in such an undertaking.  When I read the story of Solomon and how he was chosen by God to build Him a house, I marvel at the calling of this man. What a privilege to build a dwelling place for the presence of God!  So much work, so much effort went into fulfilling this dream. We see that Solomon was zealous, just like his father, to see the work of the Lord completed.  He built the House and the Bible tells about its splendor and sacredness.  Throughout his journey, Solomon also built a beautiful personal relationship with God. We see how God gives him much wisdom and favor.  God also appeared to him two times, filling his life with powerful promises. Solomon was one who honored God and worshipped Him alone which God blessed him for.  Yet, at the end of his life, we read that Solomon had a weakness.  This weakness would eventually lead to his destruction.  I Kings tells us,

"King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites: Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.  I Kings 11:1-12
 
We see that everything Solomon had worked so hard for was now jeopardized because of his love of women.  Such a great man and great calling being reduced to such a low state because of his choices.  The Bible never says that he repented, which leads me to believe that he died in his own sin. We live in a different time and different place, but his story is not so different from our very own.
What a wonderful privilege is it for us to be called to do the work of the Lord and to serve an almighty God like Jesus Christ. We too have been given a task. We are to build up the Kingdom of God as well as our own spiritual house.  God has given each Christian a personal calling which is unique and which no other can fulfill. God provides all the tools and instructions for accomplishing the task at hand.  Our only responsibility is to be obedient to the calling and allow God to lead us. We have good intentions, we want to please God, but yet sometimes we get distracted by other things such as the cares of this world, sin, or like I always say, the"stuff" of life.  We often think that its God's responsibility to keep us from detours and mistakes, but this is not the case. Just like Solomon had a free will, we too have free will. God can tell us what to do and guide us, but we still decide whether to be obedient or not. Obedience is not always easy. It usually means that we have to put aside our desires and wants for something better, although it doesn't feel like the best thing from our perspective at the time. God gives us the power of choice. He allows us to decide what to do with what He has given us. He won't do it himself. God put Adam and Eve in the garden to live in relationship with him, but he still put a tree with the forbidden fruit in the midst of the garden to test their choices. He offers us salvation, but we still must accept it and act on it. Also, He gives us promises throughout his Word that are dependent on our choices.  Solomon had a choice when he took all those foreign, pagan women to be his wives and concubines.  His poor decision cost him his relationship with God so that everything he worked so hard for was overshadowed by his poor decision. He had such a high calling, but in the end, he traded in his relationship with God for the cares of his life. 
We make choices everyday. Some choices are easier to make than others. Remember, God won't always close the door on the distractions or "stuff" of life. He leaves that for us to do.  Will we be obedient and allow God to do amazing things in our life or will be trade in our calling and settle for less through our poor choices? I pray for that you and I will always have courage to seek God's widsom, but utimately the grace to be obedient, even when its not always easy. I'll leave you with this quote that I absolutely love, "God never said it would be easy, He just said it would be worth it."  God bless friends.

Blessings,
April

Living with Uriah's Purpose

"And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they desroyed the children of Ammon, and beseiged Rabbah.  But David tarried still at Jerusalem."  II Sammuel 11:1

One evening, David was walking on his roof when he caught sight of a beautiful woman bathing.  David summons the woman called Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, to the palace.  He then sleeps with her and a couple of weeks later, finds out she is pregant with his child. David then formulates a plan to have her husband Uriah called back from the battlefield in hopes that Uriah will sleep with his wife and the baby can appear to be his, and not David's. Upon Uriah's arrival, David directs him to go home to his wife. Unfortunately, Uriah does not follow David's directions and sleeps at the door of David's palace. When David asks him why he did not return home, Uriah explains to David,

"The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine own house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as they soul liveth, I will not do this thing" (verse 11).

     Do you get a sense of Uriah's conviction and purpose?  Uriah had a calling in his life and nothing was going to stop him from fulfilling his purpose. His reverence for God and loyalty to his brethren, including his captain, Joab, is inspiring and godly. It amazes me how he put aside his own desires and wants in order to fulfill his duty as a soldier in God's army.  He could have chosen to fulfill his own purpose, but he chose the better part, God's purpose. When I read this portion of the text, I sense his reverence for God and the inspiring way in which he lived his life.   Uriah stepped up where David did not.
  The story unfolds that David then gets Uriah drunk in hopes of sending him home to be with his wife, but instead, Uriah stays at the king's palace. David sends Uriah back to the battlefield with orders to Joab to have Uriah placed at the forefront. Uriah is killed in battle, David takes Bathsheba as his wife, and Bathsheba gives birth to a child that dies shortly after. David repents of his sin and is forgiven by God, but his life is altered forever. 
      Some may wonder what David was doing at home when his brethren were out fighting in a war.  Afterall, at the beginning of this chapter, the Bible describes this time as one in which kings "go forth to battle" so why was David any different? David, who should have been out on the battlefield, fighting alongside his brethren, was at home enjoying the comforts of palace life.  My thinking goes that he lost sense of his purpose and ignored his duties as king.  Due to this, he ends up falling into sin with Bathsheba, for if he would have been out doing what he was called to do, he would not have had time to allow his eyes to wander.
         Do you know your purpose? If so, are you fulfilling it?  The danger is that when we are not fulfilling God's heavenly purpose, we set ourselves up to be distracted by the cares of this world which can lead to our demise. We were made to fulfill a purpose.  We naturally look for a purpose in life.  If we don't fulfill God's purpose, our flesh will try to find a substitute. Has God called you to be a preacher, a teacher, a pastor, a singer, a prophet, a prophetess, an evangelist, a community worker, a volunteer, a Christ-filled politician, a foster-parent?  The list goes on.  Then my encouragement to you is to set everything else aside and press towards your heavenly purpose.  As Paul says, we must press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus(Philippians 3:14) The Bible describes fulfilling our purpose as one who runs a  race:

"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain."  I Corinthians 9:24


"...Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross...." Hebrews 12:1-2

Our prize is Jesus Christ's Kingdom.  Our purpose is to be used by God to minister to others in order to expand His kingdom.  We must press past the sin and the distractions.  Just like a runner, we must focus only on the finish line.  We don't have time to look to the left or to the right, even for a second.  That split second could mean forfeiting the prize. Like David, a moment of stepping out of his purpose cost him being able to build the house of the Lord.  Are you willing to pay that high of a price? Or will you be like Uriah who fulfilled his purpose until his very last breath?  I encourage, keep your eyes on Jesus Christ and learn from his example. His purpose was Calvary and he stopped at nothing until he made it to the cross.  Stop at nothing to fulfill your calling. Keep your eyes on the prize and see God use your life in a mighty way.

God's Delay is Not His Denial

Driving home from work today, I was reminded of a thought God gave me a couple of months back. I'd like to share it with you.

Do you need God to do a miracle in your life?  Do you need God to give you a breakthrough? Do you need a healing? A deliverance?  The good news is that God will meet everyone of those needs if we believe Him in faith.  You may wonder why God has not yet answered you.  Just because he has not responded does not mean that he doesn't have something up his sleeve.  I recall a story in the book of John where one of Jesus' close friends, Lazarus was ill, at the point of death.  Lazarus's two sisters Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus to come quickly to Bethany, for they believed that Jesus would heal their brother. The Bible says that when Jesus heard the news, he said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby" (John 11:4).  So in Jesus's mind, he already had purposed to heal Lazarus. Yet, instead of leaving for Bethany right away to meet the need, he stayed put in his current city two more days knowing very well that his friends were anxious, worried, and fearful, "When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was" (John 11:6).  Was Jesus heartless? Absolutely not. In his infinite mind, the miracle was already done so he had no need to worry about the situation.  Sound familiar?  Sometimes when we don't see God answering immediately, we seem to get worried, as if God might just forget about us or pass us by.  God already sees the ending from the beginning. We must do the same.  Keep in mind, God's delay is not his denial.  You may not have your answer today, but rest assured, your answer is on it's way.  Believe and you will see the glory of God in your life!

God's Delight

"He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me." Psalm 18:19

To delight means to experience a high degree of pleasure, enjoyment, joy, rapture, or excitement in something in someone.   We delight in many things of this life. We delight in success, romance, adventures, money, fame, and many other things.  Many Christians would claim that they delight themselves in God only to claim the promise of Psalm 37, "and he will give you the desires of your heart." Yet, the question begs to be asked, is the Lord truly delighting in you and I? It’s easy for us to say that we delight ourselves in God, but it's another story to say with assurance that He delights in us. Feeling his presence sporadically or attending church once in a while does not denote his delight in us.  In the above scriptures, the Psalmist David was bold and confident when he said that the Lord delighted in him.  How does one get to this point of pleasing God so much that He enjoys, takes pleasure, and excites himself in our person, and even our presence? For certainty, God does not need us. Yet, he chooses to delight in us.  In Psalm 18, after making the statement that God delighted in him, David gives us two main reasons for making such a claim:

 "For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me" (Psalm 18:21)

“The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me... I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity... Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according being pleasing to God:to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight” (Psalm 18:20, 23-24).

Through these scriptures, we note the following about being the delight of God:

1) God delights in us when we delight in His Word and keep His commandments.

First of all, for God to find pleasure in us, we must delight ourselves and love his Word.  In the verses above, we see that David credited the fact that God delighted in him with him keeping God's commandments. This is also emphasized in the first chapter of Psalms when David says, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night."  Do we take pleasure in God's Word?  Do we feast on it daily? Do we think on it all the day long? David was one of the greatest examples in the Old Testament of a person who truly loved the Law of the Lord. The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119 (penned by David of course) and it shows David's reverence and love for the Word of God as well.  He says, "My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments (commandments) at all times."  David longed to follow God's word.  Even though he was imperfect, he knew that the laws of God would bring correction and healing to his life, "How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to they word" (Psalm 119:9).

2) God delights in us when we keep ourselves pure and blameless in His sight. 

Next, David notes his righteousness and blamelessness before God.   David was a man after God's own heart. He set his heart on pleasing God in every way and being holy or blameless before God.  He wasn't perfect.  After all, he did commit adultery and have a man murdered.  One would think David would be the last person God would delight in.  Yet, David always humbled himself before God and got himself back on track through repentance. For that reason, God delighted in him.  The same goes for us.  I'm not perfect, you're not perfect.  For God to delight in us does not mean that we have to be perfect, but we do have to acknowledge our failures before God and ask his forgiveness each day.  We fall over and over again, but it is our humility and ability to cry out to God that will bring us back into relationship with God and cause us to be his delight. When we have a heart to please God, He will see us through our failures because he delights in us, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.  Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand" ( Psalm 37:23).   This does not give us the license to sin, but it does mean that when we do sin, we have an advocate on our side who is Jesus Christ.

Another scripture comes to mind when I think about pleasing God:

 "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). 

3) God delights in us when we spend time in His presence.

Using a different scriptural context, we can also see from Psalm 27, that God wants our time. In the world we live in today, there are so many distractions that beg for our attention. Yet in the midst of all that, God must be our priority. Seeking his presence daily is a must, a non-negotiable. David understood the necessity to be close to his Maker. His love for God demanded it. When it comes to our prayer life, I believe the best time to spend with God is early in the morning before the events of the day.  Someone once said, we should tithe our first hours to God, a sacrifice that reaps great spiritual blessings. I like that idea.  I understand that everyone's schedule is so uniquely different, but if at all possible, this is the ideal standard. I have had my quiet time and devotion with God after work, but by then, I have given all my energy to my students so there is little left for God but a tired, worn-out school teacher at times. lol.   I want him to have the first of my heart.   He deserves no less. I don't speak this as one that has attained  or as one that has this perfect walk with God, I speak as one that is hungry for a more spirit-filled life. I'm pressing forward just like everyone else.

The last scripture I would like to use deals with holding on to God even when others are against us:

"He [Jesus] trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighteth in him"(Psalm 22:8).

4) God delights in us when we endure persecution.

Using a third scriptural context, we see that God delights in us when we stand tall in the face of persecution. In the Psalm 22, David prophesied the humiliation and persecution of the messiah, Jesus Christ. He described the mockery and scorning Jesus would face and how they would taunt him saying that if he was truly God’s delight, why didn't God save him. Jesus was God’s delight because he refused to let the cup of persecution pass from him. He was the delight of God because he endured even to the death at the cross for which reason, God exalted him and gave him a name that was above every name (Philippians 2:8).  When we endure persecution and rejection for Christ's sake, we become the delight of God.  Persecution does not feel good when it is happening, but like Jesus, we can look to the joy that is set before us and endure just as he did. Maybe your friends make fun of you because you live differently and stand up for what is right.  Maybe your spouse left you because you decided to follow God. Maybe your family has disowned you because of your new lifestyle. Maybe you are tempted each day by those who want to see you fall. Know that God is delighting in you in your circumstances because it shows that you love him more than this world. His reward is with him when he comes back if you will just hold on.

In conclusion, I pray that you will find yourself the object of God's delight.  If you are reading this, then I know you must have a desire deep within you to please God.  If so, you are on the right path. Let's press forward together to be what God wants us to be in Jesus Name.