As I was worshipping at church this past Sunday, I thought about how good it was in that moment to have God as the one and only love on the throne of my heart. I was delighting in His delight for me. I was reassured by His protective love for me. I was strengthened by His beautiful promises. The joy I was feeling was erupting in songs to Him. And then I thought, "Why not live like this all the time?"
I think we could, and we should! Not that we live in some sort of 24/7 worship service, but that God is always sitting as the delight of our heart. Think of a young person when they first fall in love. Even though they can still go about performing their duties at school or work, you can tell by the smile at the corner of their mouth, or that faraway look in their eye that their heart is delighting in their beloved. They are reminiscing in some sweet thing their dearest said or did, or perhaps they're putting together a plan for a special moment between the two of them. God is sweeter than any earthly lover, and when we really understand Him, it should be easy to keep Him on our minds.
I suppose the main reason more of us don't live like this is because we either don't know Him well enough, or we are led astray by either the delights or the cares of the world (Matt 13:20-22). Sad to say, I spent many years with a head full of Bible facts, but with a very poor understanding of God's heart towards me. It wasn't until I got a grasp on the depravity of my sin and the suffering Jesus was willing to go through to save me from it that I began to be awestruck at the supernatural level of compassion He has towards me. But even after that I found myself caught up in TV, movies, music, books, video games, and all the other hobbies and distractions that keep our attention from Him. Those things can be fun, but imagine how a spouse would feel, sitting next to her beloved on the sofa while he's focused on some movie or video game. Clearly she is not first place in his heart.
I'm trying to live like this now, and I hope you will, too. If these words about "delighting in God" seem alien to you, I hope you will set aside time in prayer to ask God to reveal to you his goodness, glory, and love for you.