stephen R Harrison

 JOY 365: Day 18

When your words came, I ate them. They were my joy and my heart’s delight. – Jeremiah 15:16

My son and I have been studying the book of James at night. We are reading about ten verses, discussing each verse, then praying through that section of Scripture. This has brought a lot of joy to both of our lives. Although we’ve only begun studying the first chapter, we’ve already discussed topics such as joy, wisdom, perseverance, trials, doubt, humility, prayer, eternity, temptation, sin, and God’s goodness. We talk about certain words in the verses, a whole verse, ask each other questions, and apply it to our lives. One of my favorite questions to ask and answer is, “What word or verse stood out the most?” Tonight, mine was James 1:12 about receiving a crown of eternal life because God loves us. My son’s favorite was James 1:17 about God not changing and being a giver of everything that is good.

As we read and discussed James tonight, I thought about a verse in Jeremiah. It says, “When your words came, I ate them. They were my joy and my heart’s delight” (15:16). We should consume God’s Word and allow it to nourish our spiritual lives. God’s Word brings great joy and delight to our hearts. My son and I love to do a lot of different things together. We fish, camp, ride bikes, ride ATVs, assemble LEGOs, and more. All of these are fun, and we love spending time together. We are planning to go to the movies tomorrow and get a 5-gallon bucket of popcorn! As fun as these are, none of them brings the kind of joy and delight as the time we spend in God’s Word, allowing Him to build our love, honor, unity, and more.

How have you spent time in God’s Word and received His joy and delight?