In the early 1830s in Bristol, England, a young man by the name of George Müller set out on a mission to prove to himself and to others the goodness and faithfulness of God. A biography of his life and work with the orphanages he started is set forth in the book George Müller: Delighted in God.
Reading it, I was inspired to see how he loved the Word and took such delight in seeing God’s promises come to pass. Mr. Müller had little or no personal wealth. Instead, he depended on God to prosper the work of his hands. Without making his needs known to any man, he began the undertaking of starting orphanages with only two shillings (about fifty cents) in his pocket.
As the years went by, he received the means necessary to build five large orphan houses and to take in over ten thousand orphans. From the time the first orphans arrived, God faithfully sent food in due time so that they never missed a meal. Sometimes the mealtime was almost at hand, and they did not know where the food would come from. But God was never late during the twenty thousand or more days that Mr. Müller had charge of the homes.
Daily Bible reading and prayer were vital, important parts of George Müller’s life. The first thing he did early in the morning, as stated in his biography, was “to begin to meditate on the word of God, searching, as it were, into every verse, to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated upon; but for the sake of obtaining food for my soul.” He found God’s promises in the Bible and experienced the truth of them in his everyday life. He learned to believe what he read and to act upon it accordingly.
George Müller’s delight in God and His Word is reflected in this statement: “I know what a lovely, gracious, bountiful Being God is, from the revelation which he has been pleased to make of Himself in his Holy Word; I believe this revelation; I also know from my own experience the truth of it; and therefore I was satisfied with God, I delighted myself in God; and so it came, that He gave me the desire of my heart….”
As believers today, we too can take delight in God’s Word and see His promises come to pass in our lives. Let’s look into what it means to delight in God’s Word, how we delight in it, and the benefits to our lives as we delight in that Word.
In considering what it means to delight in God’s Word, we’ll look at one definition of the word “delight.” A Standard Dictionary of the English Language from 1895 states that delight means “an extreme degree of pleasure, gratification, or joyful satisfaction….” To delight in something, one has to enjoy it.
The Word brings us pleasure and enjoyment as we appreciate its depth and beauty.
Psalms 119:47:
And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.
We take delight in God’s Word, His commandments, because we love them. We love knowing about God and what His Word says.
Romans 7:22:
For I delight in the law of God after [according to] the inward [new] man.
Our hearts take delight in the Word of God according to the new man, the Christ in us. Spiritual men and women deeply love, respect, and appreciate the truth of the Word.
By revelation, the psalmists expressed their delight in God’s Word.
Psalms 119:77:
Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.
The Psalmist David knew how important it was to his life to have the Word of God as his delight.
Psalms 40:8:
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
David was able to delight in the Word because he kept the Word in his heart. He thought about the Word and took action on it. He had a joyful satisfaction in carrying out the will of God. We too want to please God; therefore, we take great delight in hiding His Word in our hearts (Psalms 119:11).
Psalms 119:92 and 93:
Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.
I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
The writer of this psalm was faced with many challenging situations. Because he delighted in God’s Word, he remembered what the Word said. That enabled him to overcome those challenges and have confidence, knowing that God would be there for him in all the situations he faced. Had he not done that, the afflictions would have been too much, and he would have had no escape from the troubles surrounding him. The psalmist delighted in the Word of God, and that gave him the strength he needed to prevail.
Psalms 119:143:
Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.
The psalmist acknowledged that he did have trouble and anguish. But in the midst of it all, he was still able to have great delight in the commandments of the Lord. We also face pressures at times in our lives. Keeping the Word of God as our delight strengthens us to handle them. We can see from the Scriptures that we can have pleasure in the Word of God that we love, no matter what kind of situation we are in. The Word can be our gratification and joyful satisfaction….
This is an excerpt from the May/June 2006 issue of The Way Magazine.
Copyright© 2006 by The Way International. All rights reserved.
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