August 11, 2019 - - Psalm 119:7 - - A Renewed Taste for the Things of God

I will praise you with an upright heart,

when I learn your righteous rules.

Psalm 119:7 English Standard Version

Yesterday while we were at the Moncton Market my daughter’s attention was caught by a particular grouping of jams and jellies. The woman who made them encouraged Elayna to try one. The one Elayna chose was a pink jelly that was made from the petals of orange daylilies. You read that correctly—daylily flowers! It was so good and a surprise. The jam maker noted that there are many flowers that are edible. Some edible flowers likely are familiar to us, like chives and roses, but others which are also edible might surprise us: daylilies and echinacea.

Strange isn’t it, our diet is such an important part of our lives. Yet it is so easy to become caught in a routine and eat poorly or mindlessly much on things that are unhealthy for us because we have not taken the time to explore the myriad of other options that are out there. Healthy foods might take a bit of work to find, but once we do we discover it is good to eat and beneficial. If a friend prepares a new recipe for us which includes healthy foods, we can be inspired to try these ourselves and so find ourselves reinvigorated for taking steps towards better eating.

The Psalmist is noting that the righteous rules of the LORD are many and varied and beneficial. When the Psalmist mines the Word of God for ways of showing his devotion he finds his heart soars with new reasons for praise. When the Word of God is examined closely, the beauty of it changes his thoughts and taste buds. Suddenly it is sweet and good, in a whole new way of deeper obedience, to follow the LORD. It makes sense. He Who made the heavens and the earth and created us for life in this beautiful creation would know what paths are right so that we can enjoy creation and the Creator to the fullest.

Today is Sunday. Plan on going to church—learning to savour the goodness of the LORD through His Word and His righteous rules.

God of All Creation, great and glorious are Your works. Thank You for the mysteries and wonders of Your creation and the delight in learning more about creation so that through it we learn more about You! Forgive us for slouching along in our misconceptions of Your radiance and forgive us for shrinking from Your righteous rules which are the pathway of life. By the powerful presence of Your Spirit renew in us a holy zeal to learn more about You. Increase our holy hunger for the things of God. By Your Word and Spirit show us in Christ we have the Bread of Life and the Living Water which wells up in us to eternal life. Amen.