Delighting in the Law of the Lord

Psalm 1:1 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the
way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

In the past, people have asked me about personal devotions, leading to some great
conversations about God’s Word, prayer, and living in relationship with God.

Similarly, I recently saw a video of someone asking a panel of pastors whether reading
the Bible two times a week was enough. It caught my attention because I have received similar questions so I was curious how these pastors would answer.

One pastor gathered his thoughts for a few seconds, and then said “no. That’s not
enough.” And he went on to quote Psalm 1.

Far too often, we tend to think of going to church and of spending personal time in
prayer and God’s Word as tasks to check off a list that signal, “I’m a pretty good Christian.” But that type of thinking misses the point.

Being a Christian isn’t about checking things off a list. It’s about worshiping and living in
relationship with our amazing God.

Psalm 1 draws out the fact that we are called and invited to be people who “delight…in
the law of the LORD,” and who “…on his law… meditates day and night.” That is relationship
language!

Meditating on God’s Word and spending time in prayer with him is something we are
called and invited to delight in. It’s not just a task to check off our full to-do lists. Rather, that
time in God’s Word with him is to be something we delight in day and night. Not just twice a
week or even seven times a week… but day and night.

The first place that thought probably brings most of us to is a place of guilt because, if
we are honest with ourselves, we probably don’t always delight in meditating on God’s Word
and definitely not day and night. If that’s you, confess that to God. Remember and receive his forgiveness. And then, ask him to grow your desire for him and his Word.

Bible meditation and prayer are disciplines and will continue to be disciplines as long as
we have a sinful nature. And yet, through the grace of Christ, we are invited to ask God to
sanctify our hearts so that we growingly delight in his Word and seek to meditate on his Word and himself day and night.

Pastor Tim Kooiman