TAKE DELIGHT IN APPROACHING GOD

FRIDAY 16 JULY 2021

Today's topic has a deep hold or places great emphasis on the attitude of our mind and inward man and also our manner of expression in regard to pleasing and rendering services to God and dealing with spiritual matters.

Reference: Isaiah 58:2 New King James Version (NKJV)

"Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God."

We must learn to delight in approaching God day after day, not some days. In fact, a healthy, spiritual relationship with God is one observed on a daily basis. By skipping some days before communing with God or by being a Sunday Christian, it seems that many born again Christians have developed a form of godliness, without the power of God backing it up. God doesn't want us to bear or live through the formality of serving Him, with our hearts far from Him. He wants us to truly desire to know His heart, observe His ways, honour Him by keeping His ordinances, and really do all in relation to Him with all our hearts.

Being eager to know God and learning to walk perfectly in His ways are totally different from practising religion. This is the reason Christianity is not a religion. It's a relationship with God by the strength of fellowship. John the Evangelist wrote, "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3 NIV). In other words, the Christian faith is far from another world religion because it is a constant and active fellowship with the true living God. Religion makes the world unhappy and unsettled in so many ways. When the religious minds prevail, they influence every state of things around them and every relation of life with ritualistic service and acts of striving to reach out to God.

God doesn't want us to serve Him for nothing. Therefore, our Christian walk should be a lifestyle of total dedication and commitment to God on a daily basis. He doesn't want us to look so good and innocent on the outside, but inwardly we are empty in spirit. Some of us today are so formal in our worship when we are outdoors or in any Christian gathering, yet we lack the taste of true commitment to God when no one is there to notice us. God is really not moved by the expression in our appearances when we worship together in the assembly of brethren, or while offering Him service in church meetings. By mentioning this, I'm not saying that such commitments are not what God wants or that its unworthy of His attention and blessing. I'm simply indicating that God wants our "whole heart" in any circumstance.

Already Colossians 3:23 (NIV) says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." Whether you approach God through prayer, fasting, giving, praise and worship, your heart service is what God acknowledges, honours and accepts. An appearance of holiness can be deceptive, if it does not dignify God in Spirit and in truth. The lifting up of hands in a thankful mood towards God can be a mere pretence, if its not motivated by the thought of being done for God, to give Him all due glory. Our service in the house of God can be a display of the flesh, if the service is not sincerely and faithfully rendered to God as the One higher than all. Simply expressed, every form of engagement with divinity should be a function of inward earnestness or service from the depth of the heart.

Taking delight in approaching God is our daily commitment and task. It is our responsibility to engage Him without hypocrisy, selfish designs and disguise, because we are under the very eyes of God. Psalm 34:15 says, "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer" (Brenton Septuagint Translation). The righteous are those who fear God. They are just and faithful in God's sight. They serve God and offer Him spiritual worship cheerfully and diligently. They are not sluggish or discontented with the things of the Spirit. By these descriptions, I truly believe you are one of them. Therefore, child of God, take delight in approaching God consistently and do not forsake His ordinances. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Psalm 65:4; Jeremiah 29:13; Ephesians 2:18; Hebrews 4:16; James 4:8.

Exuberant Declaration:

The goodness of God is sufficient in my life. By constant practice and bold confidence, I approach God daily on the strength and wisdom of fellowship, which is well-pleasing to God and needful for my life of godliness. As the righteous, I observe the ordinances of His justice and take delight in the right principles of faith, through the Spirit. Glory to God!