Thoughts from Psalm 147

Questions: What one word connects the following....Bakers, rapper's, afternoon, Turkish?

The answer may not spring to mind readily, but 'google it' and you'll find the connecting word soon enough....DELIGHT.

While I do like the occasional Bakers Delight treat or a yummy Turkish Delight or even an afternoon delight with J (TMI!!), I can't say 'Rapper's Delight' is a song that is on my Ipod playlist.

But I do love that word....DELIGHT. It's a word to savour....to roll on your tongue....to see and feel as you say it....to say joyfully and with a smile. It's a word that sounds almost as good as what it means...a high degree of pleasure and enjoyment; joy; rapture; to bring pleasure and enjoyment (it's a clever word coz it can be a noun or a verb:)

What brings you DELIGHT? For me, it's so many things. From my husband's kisses and cuddles to little j's  face-splitting smiles. Letters and parcels in the mail, music, ice cream and mangoes, my toes in the sand at the beach and body surfing, cool weather, sunny skies, a long chat with a sister or friend, holidays, dreaming and planning, when the ironing pile is empty, a good night's sleep, reading Psalms (not palms!), living in Australia....and I could go on and on and on.

As I read Psalm 147 this morning the word DELIGHT caught my eye, as did the one mentioned in connection with delight. God DELIGHTS, He finds pleasure in.....which I guess is logical because I do, and I am created in His image.

But verse 10 tells us what His pleasure is not in....the strength of the horse, ....the legs of man. Hmmmm...not things I think about too often. But read in context with the next verse, it makes a bit more sense. God doesn't find delight in those who are ready for battle and equipped and with great strength. That's good news for me!

His delight, shown through His loving and faithful provision (read about that earlier in Psalm 147), is in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love. It is the man, woman or child who holds God in great esteem, in awe, who brings God delight. He takes pleasure in you and I if our hearts and minds are right with Him and if we have an attitude of reverence for God. He is pleased when we hope in Him, not allowing the cares of the world to sway us from a steadfast and confident trust in our Heavenly Father. He experiences enjoyment when my life shows that my hope is in Him, my heart is full of Him and I am living for Him.

To me, that's a HUGE thought. I can bring pleasure to God. The same God who, as Psalm 146 says: is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them...the One who remains faithful forever....sets prisoners free, feeds the hungry, makes the blind see, sustains the orphan and widow, upholds the cause of the oppressed and loves the righteous and humble. The God who is the greatest being in existence, delights in me when my heart and soul are right with Him.

I have a new goal for today. It's not to experience as much pleasure as I can, but it's to bring as much pleasure to my gracious and wonderful God as I can. Today, I am going to DELIGHT God.