January 31, 2025 Daily Dose of Discernment

"I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)

The commandments of the Lord are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). He never meant them to be. So why do they sometimes, nay many times, weigh us down? Could it be because in the first place we don't understand God's intention and follow His prescription? And then we hear Jesus telling His disciples the reason He gave them instructions to obey is so that His joy may be in them and that it may be full. Also David saying he delights to do God's will. What's going on?

The big difference is God's law being in the heart rather than on stone. This is the product of knowing Him, of tasting and seeing that He is good as David did. This now makes obedience relational rather than transactional, between a loving father and a respectful son rather than an exacting master and a compelled servant. God grant that this be a reality in our case.