Jeremiah 9:23-24
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord.”
When my wife Joyce was still alive I always knew what would bring her delight. It was not flowers or candy. It was for me to straighten up my area. You see, it seems that my desk and around my chair become cluttered with books, mail, and above all, small scraps of paper that I have scribbled notes on. Each item has (or had) some value to me, but to Joyce it was just a big mess.
Quite often we focus only upon our interests or the things that are important to us. When those around us lack the same interests that we do, we are prone to spend less and less time with and around them. We only seem to be interested in those who are interested in the things that we are. I think you can see that this is very narrow minded and will block meaningful relationships.
Turning the spotlight of our attention on spiritual things reveals the same problem. We seem to think that we are the ones that determine whether God will be interested in what we do. We fail to ask what it is that He wants. This passage in Jeremiah makes very clear the thing that delights the Lord. Essentially it is that we will understand and know Him and His workings. Let’s delight the Lord by knowing Him better and better.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil