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Jun 11, 2023 06:00am

Delight Recovery

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“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.” Jeremiah 15:16

When I was in college, I realized I had no love for the Scriptures. I tried to read them and it was painfully boring. This led to embarrassment because a Christian should want to read the Bible. But I was a Christian who had no desire for the Word. Exodus 33 says Joshua lingered in the tent. I wanted that so bad. Could my lack of desire be transformed? The Bible says we can ask God for anything so I started asking for Him to create in me a desire to read His Word. As I prayed, I went on a recovery mission to find delight in the pages of Scripture, and it worked! It really worked!

Recovery Mission:

I decided to print out a Bible reading plan, fold it in half, and tuck it inside my Bible. I committed to 45 minutes of daily Bible reading every day for 30 days. My first class was at 8:00am, which meant I had to leave my house at 7:45am. So every day, for 30 days, I got up earlier and was walking out the door, ready by 7:00am. This left me a full 45 minutes to sit on my bed, pull out my Scripture reading plan, and dive into the waters of the Word.

Every day I showed up.

I had a plan.

It was clear.

I knew what I was doing and where I was going.

Show up, open the Word, read.

Come to the table.

Every day, I kept showing up and I kept asking God the same thing.

Lord, increase my desire for your Word.

As I kept showing up, and as I kept asking, something unexpected began to unfold inside of me. I started craving the time in the Word. The pages began feeling familiar. The edges began to soften. Worn places inside of me started becoming worn with the words of God. Those living words were ministering healing.

When God’s Word starts feeling familiar, it becomes the thing you reach for first.

Old Faithful.

It’s consistent.

You know it will be the best thing to put on.

It conforms to your body and fits like none other.

One Mother’s Day I got a nice pair of cotton pajamas, touted for becoming softer with every wear. As someone who values a high amount of softness in clothing, this appealed to me. The pajamas came in and the cotton felt stiff and scratchy. Soft was the last word I would use to describe my new purchase. So I washed them a few times. I tried to wear them and they were anything but soft. I put them away and occasionally got them out to try again. Wash. Wait. Try again. One day, almost two years after purchasing “my soft pajamas”, I tried one more time. I pulled them out of the drawer and put them on. They were still scratchy. So I put them in the washing machine and let them air dry overnight. The next morning I woke up and put them back on. And there it was, the slightest softening. I could feel it. After two years, the fibers were finally beginning to soften. I could see it in the way the material hung more loosely.

Most things take time.

The best things for sure take time.

Realigning what delights us takes time. It feels stiff at first. Formulaic even. It is tempting to despise the lack of instant results.

I heard someone say if you give God the tiniest opening, He will rush in and fill the place. It’s true. A window, even if only raised a little, is enough to let the breeze fill the room. So don’t despise small beginnings. They are enough for the work to begin.

Lord, increase our desire for Your Word. Show us what delights apart from you. Reveal where we have been seeking life apart from You, through all the shiny, lesser things. Help us want to want You more. Help us wait with patience as we walk with You.