Chris, the author of the blog "Pilgrim in Conflict," posted a comment on a previous blog post in which he linked to this portion of the book “When I Don’t Desire God” by John Piper. Ever since I read it the first time, God has used these words of wisdom to draw my heart nearer to Himself.
************
I—(Incline!) The first thing my soul needs is an inclination toward God and his Word. Without that, nothing else will happen of any value in my life. I must want to know God and read his Word and draw near to him. Where does that “want to” come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 119:36 teaches us to pray, “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!” Very simply we ask God to take our hearts, which are more inclined to breakfast and the newspaper, and change that inclination. We are asking that God create desires that are not there.
O—(Open!) Next I need to have the eyes of my heart opened so that when my inclination leads me to the Word, I see what is really there, and not just my own ideas. Who opens the eyes of the heart? God does. So Psalm 119:18 teaches us to pray, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” So many times we read the Bible and see nothing wonderful. Its reading does not produce joy. So what can we do? We can cry to God: “Open the eyes of my heart, O Lord, to see what it says about you as wonderful.”
U—(Unite!) Then I am concerned that my heart is badly fragmented. Parts of it are inclined, and parts of it are not. Parts see wonder, and parts say, “That’s not so wonderful.” What I long for is a united heart where all the parts say a joyful Yes! to what God reveals in his Word. Where does that wholeness and unity come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 86:11 teaches us to pray, “Unite my heart to fear your name.” Don’t stumble over the word fear when you thought we were seeking joy. The fear of the Lord is a joyful experience when you renounce all sin. A thunderstorm can be a trembling joy when you know you can’t be destroyed by lightning. “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to . . . the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name” (Neh. 1:11). “His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD” (Isa. 11:3). Therefore pray that God would unite your heart to joyfully fear the Lord.
S—(Satisfy!) What I really want from all this engagement with the Word of God and the work of his Spirit in answer to my prayers is for my heart to be satisfied with God and not with the world. Where does that satisfaction come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 90:14 teaches us to pray, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”
I—(Incline!) The first thing my soul needs is an inclination toward God and his Word. Without that, nothing else will happen of any value in my life. I must want to know God and read his Word and draw near to him. Where does that “want to” come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 119:36 teaches us to pray, “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!” Very simply we ask God to take our hearts, which are more inclined to breakfast and the newspaper, and change that inclination. We are asking that God create desires that are not there.
O—(Open!) Next I need to have the eyes of my heart opened so that when my inclination leads me to the Word, I see what is really there, and not just my own ideas. Who opens the eyes of the heart? God does. So Psalm 119:18 teaches us to pray, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” So many times we read the Bible and see nothing wonderful. Its reading does not produce joy. So what can we do? We can cry to God: “Open the eyes of my heart, O Lord, to see what it says about you as wonderful.”
U—(Unite!) Then I am concerned that my heart is badly fragmented. Parts of it are inclined, and parts of it are not. Parts see wonder, and parts say, “That’s not so wonderful.” What I long for is a united heart where all the parts say a joyful Yes! to what God reveals in his Word. Where does that wholeness and unity come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 86:11 teaches us to pray, “Unite my heart to fear your name.” Don’t stumble over the word fear when you thought we were seeking joy. The fear of the Lord is a joyful experience when you renounce all sin. A thunderstorm can be a trembling joy when you know you can’t be destroyed by lightning. “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to . . . the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name” (Neh. 1:11). “His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD” (Isa. 11:3). Therefore pray that God would unite your heart to joyfully fear the Lord.
S—(Satisfy!) What I really want from all this engagement with the Word of God and the work of his Spirit in answer to my prayers is for my heart to be satisfied with God and not with the world. Where does that satisfaction come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 90:14 teaches us to pray, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”
(picture by Satashi Matsuyama, one of my favorite artists)
5 comments:
What a gorgeous picture!
Yes, there are so many treasures in the Word which we NEED to continually search for. An old saying I remind myself of is "If you're green, you grow, and if you're not, you rot!" We should be continually growing, and becoming who God wants us to be. We cannot exhaust God.
The longest Chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119. Full of Gem's for you and me. Thanks for the thought provoking post!
^ ^
U
Danielle
Okay, this is the first post I have read and I have to say this was worth waiting for. I love how the Psalms are woven in his points. And what liberating points they are! God is our sanctification, he is our Savior, we can go to Him when we feel little or nothing, because He will breath life into our dry bones.
Great stuff Mel, this really lifted me.
That picture is breath-taking as well, what warmth and beauty, and of course, one of my favorite subjects, children and nature. Good stuff; now to savor the next.
God bless,
Fred
Hi Danielle,
I love that quote! I'm going to remember that one.
Hi Fred,
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I'm really glad you both commented. I was somewhat afraid that after 30 whole days of absence, the blogging world would have forgotten me. I was grateful to see your comments. :)
God bless you both!
Hi Mel :)
The photo casts a magic spell on me. The gorgeous colors radiating from the sky makes the land take an enchanting hue. Those children blissfully playing in the beautiful surroundings and the animals peacefully grazing looks out of this world. There is a peacock also to add to the charm. This is a spellbinding photo. Your wisdom to select and post this photo to magnify the glory of God is admirable.
Your post is inspired and I hope it will be possible to follow at least some of the points mentioned by you.
Many, many thanks for sharing’
Best wishes
Hi Joseph,
Thank you for the lovely comment! :) I'm SO GLAD you enjoyed the photo. It's actually a collage of photos. The very talented man who put them together lives in Hawaii, takes photos of beautiful objects and places, and puts them together to look like one photo. His goal in life is to glorify God. Isn't that cool? I think He's doing a pretty good job.
Bless you, Joseph! You're a daily encouragement and inspiration!
Post a Comment