So, for the past few years, I have been reading the “Psalms of the Day” every day. By Psalm of the Day, I mean the Psalm that corresponds with the day of the month then the ones after it by adding 30. So, if it’s the 27th of the month, I read Psalm 27, 57, 87, etc.
Now, that’s the goal, but usually I only read 2-3 of them instead of all 5 or however many there are for that day. I alternate where I start so that, in theory, I read all of them regularly. The reality is that I often don’t get to the last 50 Psalms very often. So, when I do, there are always some gems that I have missed. Today was a day I found one!
Here’s the passage I read that got me:
Psalm 147:10-11 (NLT)
10 He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse
or in human might.
11 No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Two truths here that I find so important for myself:
1.) God does not judge value the same way we humans do. In the first verse above it says God isn’t pleased with a strong horse–I think we could safely say that this includes other “strengths” humans tend to be impressed by: cars with a lot of horsepower, big guns, successful sports teams, high-paying jobs, fancy clothes, etc. God doesn’t delight in these things like we do.
It also says God takes no pleasure in human might. So, the strong man, the rich man, the powerful man, the smart man, the respected man–none of them have any more clout with God on account of their endowment than anyone else.
While we find our value in these things, God is unimpressed. He does not value us in the same way that we value ourselves.
2.) The second verse talks about what does please God: “The Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.” This is pretty amazing to me. I think a lot about “pleasing God” and not often do I think of the things it says here. I usually think of doing great things for God, instead. Here it says that to delight God I should fear him and hope in his unfailing love.
What does it mean to fear God? I don’t fully know, honestly, but I think it has to do with having a deep, humble respect for him and a subsequent submission to Him in everything. That means our beliefs about God are defined by what He says about Himself and not what we make up in our minds. It means that we place our lives under the authority of His word. It means that we recognize that He calls the shots, not us. This sort of orientation toward God does delight him.
This last part is the part that makes me most excited. It says that, “The Lord’s delight is in [...] those who put their hope in His unfailing love.” What does this mean? Well, I think this means that to delight God, we need to learn to get our excitement, hope, and joy from the simple fact that He loves us unconditionally. The implied truth of this passage is that GOD DOES LOVE US UNCONDITIONALLY! That’s really incredible. Not only does God love us better than any human ever could, he is pleased when we build our lives on this truth.
There’s much more I could maybe say about this, but I’ll leave it at that. Be blessed today; delight in the Lord and His unfailing love for you!