How deep are your roots in Christ? If we were to be honest, many are satisfied with attending a church service, having a secure job, nice house, nice car, and material means to do whatever one chooses. Indeed, many would say “I’m blessed” if they had this lifestyle. There is only one problem–all of the above replaces delighting in God alone.
I am not saying having a secure job, material items, and material means are bad in and of themselves. However, when our pleasure and joy in “earthly things” out distances our delight in God Himself–we have abandoned the commandment of:
“Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25)
To be more exact, if your delight is primarily in “earthly things”, John states, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15)
How can we truly delight and love God?
1. Prayer. Set a prayer time that is non-negotiable. Stick to it. Pour out your heart to him. Be passionate.
2. Read his word diligently. Listen to solid doctrinal preaching. Challenge yourself in study.
3. Meditate on God and His word daily (this is VASTLY important). When I say meditate–think on Him (when you deeply love someone, do you not always think about him/her). This takes discipline and persistence–the kingdom of darkness wants you to meditate on ANYTHING that lures you away from God. The world system is designed to capture your mind and lead you astray–you must stand against it by meditating on Christ and His Word.
If you are born-again, and do the above you will begin to see a development of inner strength to stand against sin and temptation. Our best defense against the kingdom of darkness and sin is our offense of resting in God’s presence.
“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. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (Psalms 1:1-3)
