Delighting in God’s Words

by Nate Corley

For five years, I worked as a waiter at a country club restaurant in Seattle. Slacks and ties, fine silver, crystal glasses…it was kind of snooty, really. But the best part of the job was that once per shift, every waiter was allowed to eat an “employee meal.” Basically, this meant we got to eat free food off the menu of the restaurant– and pretty incredible food, at that.  I’m talking steak, lobster, prime rib, vichyssoise (look it up) … so premium, five-star kind of dining, all for free. A bonus. A perk to the job.

The only problem – due to the nature of the job – we barely ever had any time to eat. If you’ve ever worked in the restaurant industry, you know there’s really no such thing as “break time.” So what our meal usually looked like was standing in the hot, sweaty kitchen (out of sight of the paying guests) trying to slurp down a $28 custard in one gulp. Or sawing furiously into a filet mignon to wolf it down before my manager returned from the bathroom. Or taking one bit of premium Pacific seared Ahi filet every 12 minutes in between trips to the dining room with trays of food and dirty dishes.

So needless to say – the food was amazing, but we didn’t get the chance to enjoy it.

How many of us approach our Bible reading the same way? The scriptures are amazing: five-star words from God himself, more precious than gold, more exquisite and nourishing than the most premium steak money can buy. But how many of us scarf it down in two minutes before rushing off to our day? How many of us gulp it down in scattered bites between busy tasks? How many of us actually take the time to savor, and enjoy, and delight in God’s word?

What we need is to learn is to learn the art of meditation. No, I’m not talking “meditation” in the sense of sitting cross-legged saying “ommmmmmmmm.” I’m talking mediation in the sense of thinking. Pondering. Digesting. Considering. Wondering. Turning God’s words over in your mind like you would a precious stone, in the light, noticing different colors and angles and shades of beauty you didn’t see at first glance. Meditation means taking the time to delight.

There’s a lot that could be said to this, but let me present an exercise you can try right now. A meditation exercise – the point of which is to train ourselves to slow down and savor God’s word by focusing on one word at a time.

Let’s try it with a verse you might be familiar with: Psalm 23:1

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

Ok, even just THAT is too long for this. Let’s zero in on just the first line.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Pretty straightforward, right? Not a lot of mystery to this verse. We get it. God will take care of us. This is where most of us would move right on to the next line, next verse, and so on through the chapter till we close the Bible and go about our day. But meditation requires you to go slower. So let’s try the one-word-at-a-time thing with this.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Think about that word for a second (yes, “the” and “LORD” are actually just one word in Hebrew.). What does it mean that “the LORD” is my shepherd? Instead of someone else? Uncle Larry, say, or Grandma Judy or Baal? If you look at the footnotes in your Bible, you’ll see that the English words “the LORD” are actually shorthand for the Hebrew YHWH, the personal, covenant name of God. How does that change how you see this verse, when you consider that GOD….is your shepherd? The Almighty Creator? The same covenant God who called Abraham in the wilderness and poured out the plagues on Egypt and parted the sea and rained fire from heaven on Elijah’s altar? HE is my shepherd?

Next word:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Not “was” my shepherd. Not “might be” my shepherd. “Is” my shepherd. Present tense. A right-now reality. Just think about that for a while. Wonder at it. Marvel at it. Thank God for it. Then after a minute or two….go on to the next word.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

This is where things get personal. David’s not writing that God is “a” shepherd, or even “the” shepherd. He’s saying he’s my shepherd. Is this true for you? Do you really believe that God cares for you personally? And knows you? Individually? So much so, that as Jesus said, he knows the number of hairs on your head? Think about this. Pray about this. Marvel at this. Then go on to the next word.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

We might expect to find another word here. “The LORD is my King” or “The LORD is my Creator” or “The LORD is my Rescuer” (all true statements). But here we have “shepherd.” What image comes to mind with this word? What does this say about how God cares for us, and interacts with us? How would your life be different if you DIDN’T have a shepherd watching over you? Think about it. Pray about it. Meditate on it.

I think you’ve got the hand of this by now. Keep rolling with this. Go through the rest of the line, rest of the verse – one word at a time. Thinking. Pondering. Praying. Delighting.

As you can tell, meditation takes time. You can’t rush the process, much like you can’t rush the enjoyment of a good meal. But the payoff is more than any five-star steak can ever give you. On the other side of mediation is a growing affection and appreciation for the words of God…and in the God who gives us his words. Bon appetite.