Christian Living

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Delight in His Commands
by Marilyn Mackenzie


Some days I wake up just having to write something for or about God. Today was one of those days!

The birds seemed to be having a party this morning - really celebrating. They sounded so excited. Theirs was not a fearful excitement, like when a cat lurks somewhere in the yard. Rather, it was joyful excitement, as if they were just happy to be alive and singing. For almost five hours now, they've been rejoicing. Sometimes their voices have combined, with all varieties of birds singing together. At other times, there have been soloists. But, they have been singing and rejoicing continually all morning. Too bad more humans don't awaken that way.

I awoke this morning feeling young and fresh and new. Praise the Lord! Yes, and as I sat down to visit with God, the words on my lips continued to be "Praise the Lord!" As I got out my Bible, it opened to Psalm 112. "Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands." (Psalm 112:1) Amen! Yes!

After reading the verse above, I remembered a women's Bible study I held a few years ago. There were about eighteen women in that study, and I was the youngest and feeling rather badly about leading it. Doesn't God's word say the the older women should teach the younger ones? God shared with me that some can be older and wiser in their faith than than their chronological age. Hmmm.

Some of my dear older friends questioned that verse. "How can we delight in his commands?" they asked. Wow. How can we not?!?

God's word is such an awesome instruction manual for all who will read it! But some are so stubborn that they insist on trying to construct a life without it. Some will only pick up the Bible after their lives have been broken and pieces have been misaligned or are missing. After making a mess of their lives, they finally consult God's instruction manual to discover where they went wrong. Glory be, what's so wonderful about our God and his instruction manual is that our lives can be restored like new again!

When one has tried to assemble a piece of particle board furniture without instructions and has given up and finally checked the directions, the furniture piece often has to be taken apart and put back together the proper way. But in re-assembling the bookcase or table, there can be holes in wrong places or marks that cannot be removed. Not so with us and God's re-assembling of our hearts and our lives! God can make us new people. He does. But how much simpler it would be to just follow his commands in the first place.

Why do we doubt that our Creator has the best idea of all about our purpose and our path in life? Looking around at his world, we can see that he is the greatest inventor of all. Who else could have created the birds and flowers and trees? Who else could have put together these bodies - such wonderful working systems and parts? As we acknowledge that God is the best inventor ever, mustn't we also realize that his instruction manual will also be the best ever? If his commands were made for our good, how arrogant of us to think that we can possibly think of a better way to live than by following those commands.

"Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands." (Psalm 112:1)

"He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord." (Psalm 112:7)

Amen and amen!

Have a great day!

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